Maryland’s Budget Woes Could Be Exacerbated By Federal Spending Cuts

The state receives 33 percent of its funding from the federal government.Delegate Kris FairAnnapolis, Md (KM) Maryland’s budget deficit has been the number-one issue facing legislators meeting in Annapolis for the 2025 General Assembly session. The state is projected to face a funding shortfall of nearly $3 billion dollars.Frederick County Delegate Kris Fair, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee where a lot of funding bills originate, says lawmakers will need to make some hard choices before they vote on a spending bill for fiscal year 2026. “How do we make the state government more efficient, more lean, more responsive while still protecting Marylanders and making sure that one of the reasons we all love living here in Maryland is because it has some of the best quality of life in the country,” he says.Earlier this year, Governor Wes Moore introduced his fiscal year 2026 budget which totals $67.3 billion which has a $3 billion deficit. It also contains $2 billion in spending cuts.But the state’s budget situation could be exacerbated by potential funding cuts from the federal government. “The federal government is making decisions that, while ideologically might not be in agreement, it’s also a really big gut reality check that they could be doing some significant harm to the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Marylanders,”  says Fair.Last year, Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep the government running through March 14th, 2025. Fair says lawmakers are concerned about what happens after that. “We are waiting to see if the federal government is capable of discussing and, more importantly,  passing a continuing resolution or a budget to respect the funding,” he says.Despite all this, Fair says he’s confident the General Assembly will pass a budget for fiscal year 2026 before it adjourns for the year on Monday, April 7th. “We take this responsibility very seriously,” he says. “I think in the next three to four weeks, we’re going to see the House version of the budget. It’s going to go over to the Senate.”The two chambers must reconcile the budget before it’s approved. The new fiscal year starts on July 1st, 2026.”My big focus right now making sure we protect the historic investments that the Governor has put into Frederick County inside of his budget,” Fair says.By Kevin McManus