Recent media coverage and statements by policymakers have put a spotlight on Maryland’s fiscal health. We face real challenges in the years ahead, but there is no cause for panic. With fair tax reforms to ask wealthy individuals and profitable corporations to pay their fair share, we can afford to support bedrock services like schools, health care, roads, and transit that Maryland communities need to thrive. Where Are We? Maryland’s fiscal picture has undergone dramatic ups and downs since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Although state analysts initially predicted severe shortfalls, positive federal responses like the CARES Act’s unemployment insurance enhancements and the American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax Credit improvements instead delivered strong economic performance and unprecedented revenue growth. With those laws’ impacts now largely behind us, the state is now facing fiscal challenges comparable to those seen in the years preceding the pandemic. State analysts are…

Having a safe place to live and raise a family is critical to economic security, health, and many other aspects of daily life. Maryland has some of the highest housing costs in the country and, despite recent progress on tenants’ rights and worker protections like raising the state’s minimum wage and guaranteeing paid leave, too many people are forced to pay far more than they can afford in rent or accept unsafe, unhealthy housing conditions. In a new paper and data visualization, MDCEP and the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance-Jacob France Institute examined one possible option for increasing access to affordable housing for Baltimore City residents. The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV) is the nation’s largest federal rental assistance program and assists over 5 million people in 2.2 million low-income households. Assisting over 17,000 households in Baltimore City, the program, administered by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC), offers a…

When Maryland students return to school this fall, it will be the state’s second year phasing in the historic Blueprint for Maryland’s Future school funding reform. Both Gov. Moore’s budget proposal and the adopted state budget faithfully implement the Blueprint reforms, which means that scheduled funding boosts will proceed normally. However, rapid inflation, varying enrollment trends, and a change to the way the state measures student poverty combine to make this year’s school funding picture more complicated than most. This post will take you through the highlights. But first, here are the steps policymakers should take now to invest in children across Maryland: Lawmakers should ensure that recent years’ rapid inflation does not lead to persistent school underfunding. To do this, they should amend the Blueprint to update per-pupil funding levels for the economy’s new, higher price level. They should also consider building in real-time inflation adjustment. Policymakers should advance…

Maryland families are facing a wide range of challenges, such as the high cost of essentials like child care and housing, and that is affecting the well-being of children across the state. Maryland ranks 21st in child well-being according to the 2023 KIDS COUNT® Data Book just released by The Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Data Book, released annually, is a 50-state report of recent household data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation that analyzes how children and families are faring. Each year, the Data Book presents national and state data from 16 indicators in four domains —economic well-being, education, health, and family and community factors — and ranks the states according to how children are faring overall. The data in this year’s report are mostly from 2021. New Hampshire, Utah and Massachusetts rank first, second and third in overall well-being in the 2023 Data Book; Mississippi, Louisiana and…

As we celebrate Mother’s Day, we’re also celebrating newly passed legislation that will improve the quality of life for children and families across the state. The 2023 Maryland General Assembly session saw the passage of several key bills that will support parents and, in turn improve the well-being of children and the future of our communities. Not only did the legislature pass the Family Prosperity Act and the Fair Wage Act, improving economic security for working families, but also established new provisions for affordable childcare and took steps to address childhood hunger. Economic Security Tax credits for working families, like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), have been shown to be effective in preventing children from growing up in poverty and assisting families in paying for the necessities of life. Maryland made significant strides in assisting working families in 2021 by establishing a small CTC,…

  The Maryland General Assembly missed a great opportunity to affirm healthcare as a basic human right by failing to pass the Access to Care Act (House Bill 588). No person should be denied access to healthcare due to their immigration status or their ability to pay. Yet, in Maryland, undocumented immigrants will continue to face barriers excluding them from various types of health services and programs. Despite a clear passage in the House, the Access to Care Act—a bill that would open up the state’s marketplace for purchasing health coverage to everyone regardless of immigration status—stalled in the Senate Finance Committee and thus failed to pass in the Senate chamber. The bill would have helped reduce Maryland’s uninsured rate and address long-standing racial and ethnic health disparities, particularly among the state’s immigrant communities. Work to Expand Access to Health Coverage Must Continue Through the Access to Care Act, Maryland…

Gov. Wes Moore greets a child during the Family Prosperity Act bill signing. The passage and signing into law of the Family Prosperity Act in the 2023 legislative session will provide a much-needed boost to the economic security and sustenance of Maryland’s working families, helping more than 400,000 Marylanders afford the basics and invest in their futures. Working family tax credits, like Maryland’s state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), are proven, powerful tools that help ensure kids don’t grow up in poverty and help families afford the basic things their households need. Maryland took a big step forward in supporting working families in 2021 when it created a modest CTC, expanded the state EITC to include thousands of low-income workers who were previously ineligible for the credit, and increased the value of the credit for all recipients. The Family Prosperity Act made those changes permanent…

At the start of this year’s legislative session, newly elected Gov. Moore introduced a bill to fulfill his campaign promise to accelerate and strengthen Maryland’s $15 minimum wage. As introduced, the bill would have boosted paychecks for 175,000 workers. Lawmakers ultimately passed the bill in significantly weakened form, delaying implementation by three months and stripping a provision to secure the wage floor’s purchasing power in future years. The legislation Gov. Moore signed this week is an important accomplishment, providing relief to 163,000 workers who are currently being squeezed by rapid price increases. However, the law misses opportunities to provide workers long-term protection and make our minimum wage more inclusive. Gov. Moore’s original Fair Wage Act consisted of two important pieces: Phase in the full $15 minimum wage for covered workers at all employers effective in October 2023 Adjust the minimum wage for inflation beginning July 1, 2025 to ensure that…

Maryland lawmakers are getting close to adopting a spending plan for the next budget year, which begins July 1. The development of the state budget year has been marked by several major differences from recent years. First, as it is the first year of Gov. Wes Moore’s term, development of the proposed budget was split between his administration and the prior administration of former Gov. Larry Hogan. Second, this is the first year that the legislature has had additional powers to move money around in the budget and increase funding for certain line items, following a voter-passed constitutional amendment that passed in 2020. And, the governor and legislature also went into the start of the budget process in a historically strong financial position, having ended the 2022 budget year with more than $1 billion in unallocated funds due in large part to the influx of federal funds early in the…

MDCEP Policy Intern Megan Condon contributed to this post Equal Pay Day serves as a reminder of the ongoing gender pay gap and the need for action to achieve pay equity in the workplace. This year it takes place today, March 14, which symbolizes how far into the year women must work in order to have earned what men made in the previous year. Currently, women in Maryland are typically paid just 86 cents for every dollar paid to a man. This legislative session, MDCEP amongst other fair pay advocates is supporting a bill (House Bill 832) that would require employers to include the possible salary range for a role. Disclosing a salary range is a simple and effective way to increase transparency and close both gender and racial pay gaps. When women aren’t paid fairly, it makes it harder for them to take care of their families, limits their…