ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBFF) — The floodgates are open for budget conversations in Annapolis as the halfway mark of the General Assembly session has come and gone. It’s just not clear what will stick from the menu of options being presented.

Gov. Wes Moore made the rounds Thursday and Friday, defending his tax proposal to various committees. Friday, he answered questions – from Republicans only – in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. Gov. Moore has outlined a plan to close the state’s $3 billion budget deficit by raising $1 billion in new revenues, cutting spending, and investing in growth economies, like quantum and life sciences.

The governor also wants to increase taxes on wealthy Marylanders. It’s estimated two-thirds of Maryland taxpayers would see a $173 reduction in tax burden, while one in five Marylanders would see an increase in their tax burden by just under $1,500, according to the state Board of Revenue Estimates.

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“I ask the members of this committee: let’s work together to give the middle class a break because they need it,” Gov. Moore told the committee Friday.

While the questions came from Republican members of the committee, Sen. Jim Rosapepe, D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel Counties, thanked the governor for his “thoughtful” approach to cutting government, calling it a scalpel approach rather than a chainsaw.

“I’m very supportive of your budget,” he told the governor. “We’re going to have to make some changes in it, but I hope going forward, the values and priorities you laid out, you’ll stick to.”

The Department of Legislative Services, DLS, published a menu of options to raise revenues for the state: Eliminate the state’s weekly-long, tax-free, back to school shopping week; implement a sales tax on salty snacks; double the transfer tax on high-value properties; and increase the state’s property tax 1-cent per $100 of assessed value, going from 11.2 cents to 12.2 cents.

“I’m going to work with anybody and everybody. I will look at any and all options to make sure that we can grow this economy and make Maryland more business friendly, give middle class Marylanders a tax cut, because middle class Marylanders need some relief,” Gov. Moore said when questioned by FOX45 News if he would support the proposals outlined by DLS.

When pressed again on whether he would support the specific tax increases floated by DLS, Gov. Moore didn’t directly answer.

“I will work with the general assembly on which proposals make sense, and which I think do not make sense,” he said.

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Gov. Moore didn’t answer a follow-up question asking which proposals he believes don’t make sense.

“It’s almost like any new tax that could be conceived and thought about is on the table right now,” Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey said when asked about the tax proposals. “That’s very concerning and should be concerning to all Marylanders.”

Sen. Hershey took issue with Gov. Moore’s growth agenda as an option to address the fiscal crisis now, noting business growth takes time, though he said the idea overall could be a good option for Maryland.

But, without making significant adjustments to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future – the state’s multi-billion-dollar, decade-long education spending plan – Sen. Hershey said the structural deficit will only grow in the years to come. Right now, the Blueprint is fully funding, but that money is slated to run out by the end of fiscal year 2027.

“Well, if he’s not going to fix the blueprint this year then he’s going to kick the can down the road,” Sen. Hershey said.

The proposals from DLS are just recommendations, and lawmakers don’t have to adopt them. But the General Assembly does have to pass a balanced budget by the end of session. The funding uncertainty at the federal level, however, has sparked new concern about the impact on Maryland and its workforce.

“We know that these are not normal times. The budget plan that I introduced on Jan. 15 came five days before the inauguration of Donald Trump,” Gov. Moore told the committee. “What we are already seeing in just these first six weeks in this new administration – and its direct impact on the state of Maryland are even worse than, frankly any of us could have anticipated.”

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