Posted on 09/18/22
| News Source: FOX45
The state of Maryland closed the 2022 fiscal year with a revenue surplus of nearly $2 billion dollars.
This marks the second year in a row Maryland has seen a multi-million dollar windfall-- to which Maryland State Comptroller Peter Franchot credits “a massive unanticipated influx of revenues.”
Anirban Basu, economist and CEO of Sage Policy Group, explained how the State will allocate its surplus.
As required by law, $500 million will to go to the Rainy Day Fund and $370 million to the Fiscal Responsibility Fund.
Comptroller Peter Franchot is urging lawmakers to place the $1.1 billion dollars of unassigned revenue into the Rainy Day Fund.
Economist Basu says bolstering the Rain Day Fund is wise move. He points to the current economic climate, rising inflation and recent history in which Baltimore relied on money from its Rainy Day fund.
“In 2020, the state of Maryland and the city of Baltimore tapped into their respective Rainy Day Funds because they had difficult balancing their budget, and of course there were many people in need.”
The surplus revenue will also fund renovations at public schools and colleges, and as state employee pay raises.