Chief Deputy Comptroller Andy Schaufele joined Lt. Governor Aruna Miller and Chief Deputy Treasurer Jonathan Martin for today’s meeting of the Board of Public Works. During the meeting, the Board approved a settlement of nearly $2.9 million under the Walter Lomax Act for Mr. James Langhorne, who spent 9,870 days incarcerated due to a wrongful conviction. Mr. Langhorne then addressed the Board, describing the many challenges and obstacles he and other exonerees still face after their wrongful convictions are vacated.

 

Later in the meeting, Deputy Comptroller Schaufele highlighted item 38 on the Department of General Services agenda, which involved $18 million in retroactive contract spending to purchase software licenses. Deputy Comptroller Schaufele spoke of the financial oversight improvements expected as part of the FMIS modernization project helmed by the Office of the Comptroller. “Prior to this item, our General Accounting division and the Office of State Financial Innovation were unaware of this significant financial overspend that seems to be the result of the disconnected financial systems.” Deputy Comptroller Schaufele said. “The FMIS Modernization Project, which is the project to modernize the entire state’s financial infrastructure, is well underway, and our team has added this issue not only for short-term corrective action, but also as we evaluate solutions for the state's updated financial system. We appreciate the Office of State Procurement's commitment to refining their contract processes, oversight, and standard operating procedures to ensure this is not an issue on future statewide contracts.”

 

In all, the Board of Public Works approved 120 items, representing a total State expenditure of $329,708,277.54, including:

• Grant agreements for 16 recipients for 16 projects located in 11 counties and Baltimore City, with a total value of $21,912,002.

• Seven items awarding $16,651,071.75 to prime certified small business primes

• Six items awarding $11,412,728.03 to certified minority business enterprise primes

• One item awarding $8,307,341.90 to an Employment Works Program provider

• 10 items awarded with established participation goals for minority business enterprises

• Three items were awarded with established participation goals for veteran-owned small business enterprises

The next meeting of the Board of Public Works is July 16, 2025.