Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced a new education spending plan that he says would deliver on a promise made when Maryland passed legislation allowing gaming in the state a decade ago.
At a news conference at the State House in Annapolis, Hogan described his “Commitment to Education Act of 2018.” He said the bill would add $4.4 billion to public education spending over the next 10 years.
Hogan said his bill will create an education “lockbox” and make sure that revenues from casinos — money intended for education — could not be siphoned off for other purposes.
Hogan added that under his proposal, the first 20 percent of casino revenues would go toward school construction and an additional $100 million would go to K-12 operational spending.
Last month, Democratic lawmakers — including House Speaker Michael Busch — announced their own education funding bill, saying it would create a lockbox and fulfill the promise of using revenues from the state’s casinos to fund schools.
Hogan says unlike the Democratic proposal, his bill wouldn’t require a referendum.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Kate Ryan over at WTOP