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Ehrlich's Budget Plan May Exceed Guideline
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The state's record of spending increases from one year to the next has risen and dipped with the economy -- from a high of 10 percent in the budget passed in 1992 to a low of just under 1 percent in Ehrlich's first year as governor. In Parris N. Glendening's two terms as governor, the rate of growth never hovered above 7 percent, except in 2000, another surplus year, when it climbed to 9 percent.
Last month, the panel set the limit at 8.9 percent, which it said would allow spending to increase by $1.5 billion. Even if Ehrlich's budget stuck to the limit, spending would rise at a greater rate than in any of the past five years.
Some of the GOP's most outspoken fiscal conservatives in Annapolis defended Ehrlich's approach, while expressing reservations about the pace of spending. Eastern Shore Sen. E.J. Pipkin (R) credited the governor with turning around the state's fiscal fortunes but said he has heard from constituents who worry that they won't see enough of that bounty returned in tax cuts.
"It looks like we've got a $1 billion surplus and 6 billion ways to spend it," Pipkin said.
Sen. David R. Brinkley (R-Frederick) said he is concerned about the rapid rate of growth but added that the state had been "given a breather with the economy."
The Maryland Taxpayers Association -- a free-market, low-tax citizens group -- has applauded the governor's vetoes last year of legislation, such as a measure to increase the state's minimum wage. Executive Vice President Richard Falknor said the group is less satisfied with Ehrlich's record on spending.
Instead of looking to expand the budget, Falknor said, the governor should do more to modernize state government. The taxpayer group has suggested converting the state's troubled pension system for state employees into a private 401(k)-style retirement plan.
"He certainly presides over the Maryland Nanny State with more restraint than likely alternative incumbents, and is less driven to extend its boundaries," Falknor wrote in a letter to The Washington Post. "But this may not be enough to energize the Maryland center-right base. They might find such a recommendation tepid."
Staff writer Matthew Mosk contributed to this report.
