Gov. Martin O’Malley unveiled the outline of the spending plan state legislators hope to enact during a special session next week.
The plan, according to The Baltimore Sun, would raise income taxes on those making more than $100,000 a year -- or households making more than $150,000. This House-backed proposal is similar to the one that budget conferees agreed to in the final hours of the session.
The would-be budget makes deeper cuts than the spending plan O’Malley originally submitted in January.
Maryland’s General Assembly failed to pass the agreed upon spending plan during session in April, and instead passed a “Doomsday” budget that called for severe spending cuts.
Via the Sun:
"To leave the budget as it stands right now would damage the very forward motion that all of us working together are trying to hard to achieve for our state," O'Malley said.
Both the Senate and House leaders said they have the necessary votes in their respective chambers to get this new budget passed.
* Gov. O’Malley issued a statement Wednesday commending President Barack Obama's on his historic announcement that he supports gay marriage.
In March, O'Malley signed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland. If the bill survives an upcoming referendum, same-sex couples will be able to wed in the state beginning Jan. 1.
O’Malley’s statement:
Today, President Obama affirmed that for a people of many different faiths -- a people who are committed to the principle of religious freedom -- the way forward is always to be found through greater respect for the equal rights and human dignity of all.
In Maryland, we agree.
Ultimately, we all want the same thing for our children: to live in a loving, stable committed home protected equally under the law."
* George Allen got the backing of the American Conservative Union Wednesday, an endorsement that Tim Kaine's campaign subsequently called “meaningless.”
In its endorsement, the ACU -- which dubs itself America’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative organization -- said Allen’s “extensive record of conservative leadership for fiscal responsibility, government transparency and accountability, and pro-life policies.”
Allen’s response, aia the Fairfax News:
“It is an honor to receive the important endorsement of the American Conservative Union, the leading voice of America’s conservative principles,” Allen said. “I’m proud to stand for proven, conservative solutions that hold government accountable, reduce taxes and burdensome regulations on families and job-creating businesses, unleash our American energy resources, and free our economy to grow and create jobs.
Brandi Hoffine, communications director for the Kaine campaign, had this response, via the Fairfax News:
“Of course Washington insider George Allen thinks a stamp of approval from a D.C. political organization will make up for the damage he’s done, but for Virginians who are struggling in the aftermath of his fiscally reckless Senate term, it’s as meaningless as his repeated promises of fiscal responsibility,” Hoffine added.
