Hogan Moves Ahead With Reopening State Police Barrack
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Gov. Larry Hogan said Friday he will veto $2 million for renovations at an arts facility to offset expenses related to moving ahead with his plans to reopen a state police barrack in Annapolis, and he warned of rising costs to pay for state debt.
The Republican governor also announced plans to move ahead with adding 100 state troopers to the force.
Hogan said he will issue a line-item veto for money lawmakers had set aside in the state's capital budget for the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, which also is based in Annapolis. He said a state police barrack in the capital must be a priority.
The rest of the capital budget will go into law without the governor's signature, Hogan said. However, in a letter to House Speaker Michael Busch, Hogan wrote that the Legislature added $50 million in general obligation bond authorizations above the $995 million capital budget that he initially proposed.
The governor noted that the increase in debt service costs now outstrips growth in property tax revenues. In fiscal year 2016, general fund debt service costs went up 96 percent, the governor wrote, from $140 million to $274 million. He added that costs will exceed $400 million in fiscal year 2017, and Maryland's debt service will cost more than the state's entire school construction program.
Hogan, who entered office in January, said he has no intention of increasing property tax rates to fund a debt service shortfall created by the prior administration.
"By reducing the level of state borrowing, we will reduce future debt service requirements, and help resolve Maryland's ongoing structural deficit," Hogan wrote. "Accordingly, please expect to see significantly smaller capital budgets and five-year Capital Improvement Programs in the future."
In a statement announcing the veto, Hogan noted that Busch declined to formally introduce the governor's second supplemental budget for consideration during the legislative session, which ended last month. That budget included money to reopen the barrack and the additional state troopers.
Busch, D-Anne Arundel, said the money for the art facility's renovations can't be redirected. The speaker said the renovation funding doesn't have anything to do with the barrack.
"This regrettably hurts the people who support Maryland Hall and the arts in Anne Arundel County," Busch said of the governor's veto.
The speaker also noted that lawmakers included projects in the capital budget late in the legislative session at Hogan's request, including $200,000 for the Chesapeake Maritime Museum, $450,000 for the Southern Maryland Regional Higher Education Center and $270,000 for Perdue Stadium in Salisbury.
(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
