ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Gov. Larry Hogan is providing some highlights of his budget proposal.
Hogan said Tuesday it will include about $6.5 billion for K-12 education, a record amount for the state.
Hogan says every single school system in Maryland will see increased funding. The governor says the state is investing an additional $365 million more in school construction, bringing the total to $1.4 billion.
The budget also contains $1.38 billion for the University of Maryland, an increase over last year.
“Our FY 2019 budget will again maintain nearly $1 billion in cash reserves” declared Hogan.
Hogan said his budget includes $10 million dedicated to increasing the number of students graduating in STEM-related fields.
Hogan was asked whether there was any funding in his budget aimed at bringing down Baltimore’s murder rate. “Well, we’ve got quite a lot of money in the budget for law enforcement,” Hogan said. “We’ve increased State Police funding, we’ve increased funding to Baltimore City and other police departments” he said.
Hogan said the budget includes more than $50 million to fully fund the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund.
The budget includes $7 million aimed at recruiting and retaining correctional officers at state facilities. Hogan says he’s putting $8 million toward upgrading and replacing what Hogan calls an “aging fleet” of Maryland State Police vehicles.
Typically, the governor meets with leading Democrats for breakfast to talk about the budget for the next fiscal year before the full budget is released, but Democrats have canceled since the governor already released highlights. Hogan will make the entire budget public on Wednesday.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report from Annapolis, Maryland.
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