Maryland Republicans have presented suggested budget cuts aimed at getting a grip on the state's running deficit into future years.
Proposals from House Republicans discussed on Tuesday would make roughly $825 million more reductions than Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley has proposed in his budget to address this fiscal year's $2 billion deficit.
It's a long list of cuts. But one of the biggest involves ending a program that compensates school districts where education costs more. That would save about $126 million. House Republicans also would lay off 500 state employees instead of furloughing all executive branch employees.
Sens. David Brinkley and E.J. Pipkin have their own plan. A big part of their proposal would pass half of teacher pension costs on to local governments. That would save about $450 million.
