October 26th, 2016 by WCBC Radio
Maryland's top legislative analyst warned state lawmakers Tuesday to "get real" about what's driving chronic budget gaps and suggested they consider trimming spending. The Baltimore Sun reports Warren G. Deschenaux, executive director of the Department of Legislative Services, told about three dozen state lawmakers that they are responsible — not a recession — for hundreds of millions of budget shortfalls in recent years. State forecasters overestimated how much money the state would take in by about $785 million over the course of this year and next. Even under optimistic scenarios, Deschenaux said the state laws call for spending to outpace revenue by 1.2 percent, a gap that will force policy makers to cut $250 million every single year.
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