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Gov. Martin O'Malley has proposed a $36 billion state operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. His proposal, which is subject to General Assembly approval, would address a projected shortfall of about $1 billion through a mix of spending cuts and higher taxes. Specifically, the proposal includes $610 million in spending cuts and $311 million in new revenue as well as transfers of $104 million and anticipated federal tax changes of $78 million. The total represents a 2 percent increase in spending from the current fiscal year.

Overall budget

( Kim Hairston, Baltimore Sun / January 12, 2012 )

Gov. Martin O'Malley has proposed a $36 billion state operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. His proposal, which is subject to General Assembly approval, would address a projected shortfall of about $1 billion through a mix of spending cuts and higher taxes. Specifically, the proposal includes $610 million in spending cuts and $311 million in new revenue as well as transfers of $104 million and anticipated federal tax changes of $78 million. The total represents a 2 percent increase in spending from the current fiscal year.

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08lowrider at 12:44 PM March 02, 2012

Musicians should never be allowed in politics. They have no education on economics just socialist ideas. A budget is something that balances out so call it what it is a another Democratic TAX hike. You all can thank Motgomery and Baltimore county and Baltimore city for all these taxe increases.

Ian Campbell at 2:34 AM February 11, 2012

I believe Governor O'Malley is unfamiliar with market economics. Higher taxation is a drag on the private economy where wealth is created and then recycled naturally by people saving and investing. This is how real growth occurs. The market redistributes wealth into new businesses where the money is used to create more wealth for the economy, then recycled back into the pocket of the first man or woman whose savings were used to grow that business. Everyone gets rich in a market economy; there is no reason for the statists to steal money from people who work in order to pay off the rich government employees and the lazy people on welfare who have children but no marriage and no incentive to change their way of life because the state finances their lifestyle of single motherhood and male unemployment.

Givemeabreak64 at 4:03 PM January 19, 2012

O'Malley needs to be run out of town. People bust their tails to make things meet in this state and he keeps piling it on. I guess it's ok when you have escorts, state paid vehicles, free housing, utilities, etc provided by the state. Maybe he should drive around and look at how the state's money is wasted. 15 people on a worksite while 4 are working....bosses having multiple assistants..money being wasted on highways for "improvement" when nothing is improved at all...i.e. I95 just north of Baltimore. O'Malley doesn't care about anyone in this state no matter how much his tries to portray it with his soft talk crap in the media.

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Annie Linskey Annie Linskey covers state politics and government for The Baltimore Sun. In her eight years at the Sun, she's also covered Baltimore City Hall, Baltimore police and briefly wrote a column on sailing for the Anne Arundel section. Originally from Connecticut, Annie has also lived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where she reported on war crimes tribunals and landmines. She lives in Canton. Follow her on Twitter @annielinskey.

John Fritze has covered politics and government at the local, state and federal levels for more than a decade and is now The Baltimore Sun's Washington correspondent. He previously wrote about Congress for USA TODAY, where he led coverage of the health care overhaul debate and the 2010 election. A native of Albany, N.Y., he currently lives in Montgomery County. Follow him on Twitter at @jfritze.

Michael Dresser is on his second tour of duty covering Maryland politics from Annapolis. He previously served as State House correspondent from 1996 to 2004, then moved to the transportation beat for seven years, where he wrote the Getting There column and blog. Earlier in his career, he covered retailing and telecommunications. He lives in Ellicott City. Follow him on Twitter at @michaeltdresser.

Julie Scharper covers City Hall and Baltimore politics. A native of Baltimore County, she graduated from The Johns Hopkins University in 2001 and spent two years teaching in Honduras before joining The Baltimore Sun. She has followed the Amish community of Nickel Mines, Pa., in the year after a schoolhouse massacre, reported on courts and crime in Anne Arundel County, and chronicled the unique personalities and places of Baltimore City and its surrounding counties. Follow her on Twitter at @juliemore.

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