The Maryland House of Delegates on Wednesday approved Gov. Larry Hogan’s $42 billion operating budget, with lawmakers applauding the bill as a bipartisan plan that moved through the General Assembly with greater ease than any other spending blueprint they have seen in years.
The Senate and the House have both passed the legislation, but with dozens of minor amendments that must be reconciled in conference committee before going back to both chambers for final approval. The budget passed 46 to 0 in the Senate and 133 to 5 in the House.
The budget fully funds all of Maryland’s spending formulas and the pension system while giving state employees raises and providing ample money for the social safety net, said Del. Maggie L. McIntosh (D-Baltimore), the chair of the House Appropriations Committee. She said it leaves a projected $1.4 billion in surplus and reserves.