Md. Lawmakers Sharpen Pencils For Ehrlich Budget

Democrats' Edit of Governor's Plan Will Target Public Construction Funds

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., center, gives the State of the State speech in January. Democratic legislators want more money for school and courthouse projects. (By Chris Gardner -- Associated Press)

Democratic leaders in the General Assembly are quietly preparing a major rewrite of Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s capital budget, exerting legislative power at a new level and setting up a debate over how to spend state dollars for the construction of public schools, courthouses and university buildings.

Maryland's governor has the strongest budget powers in the nation to craft annual spending plans for day-to-day operations. But lawmakers have considerable latitude to divvy up money for capital projects -- and they plan to exercise that authority this session.

"We're not chopped liver; we're not potted plants. We have a role to play," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert).

What's in and what's out of the capital budget has yet to be determined. But Miller, House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) and other leading budget writers sketched out a rough picture last week of what they might change.

The University of Maryland's College Park campus would likely benefit, as would school construction budgets for larger counties, such as Montgomery and Prince George's, and a courthouse project in Rockville.

What's more, lawmakers could recommend paying for more projects with short-term borrowing, a move that could imperil Ehrlich's effort to cut 2 cents off the state's property tax rate.

The planned shake-up of the capital budget underscores the evolving relationship between the Democrat-controlled General Assembly and the first Republican governor in a generation, who is running for reelection this year.

When a Democrat occupied the governor's office on the second floor of the State House, legislative leaders and the chief executive often negotiated ahead of time to take care of each other's pet projects. But Ehrlich's election in 2002 upended the balance of power.

"What the Democrats are saying is, 'This guy isn't talking to us at all. He's just giving us a budget,' " said Donald F. Norris, a professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. "Their way of flexing their muscle is to play hardball on the capital budget."

Two years ago, the General Assembly tried unsuccessfully to pass legislation that would strip the governor of his unique budget edge. In the operating budget, lawmakers can make cuts, but they are restricted from adding money or moving it among programs.

Last year, lawmakers grabbed greater control over public school construction projects, adding $80 million to the pot and unilaterally determining how to split it up.

Sen. David R. Brinkley (R-Frederick), a member of the budget committee, said talk of reconstructing the capital budget is another example of a "Democratic legislature that has to learn how to power-share," he said. "It doesn't look like that's happened."