Maryland's Evolving Budget Powers (The Impact of a 2020 Ballot Initiative)

Contrasting the Alaska legislature’s ability to veto executive orders with the Maryland budget process is why you’ll hear so many in the government relations industry say, “When you’ve seen one state, you’ve seen one state!” States are all unique in their legislative processes and, more fundamentally, the types of power granted to the legislative and executive branches. 

The Maryland budgeting process is unique among states, though it has evolved following a 2020 ballot initiative. Previously, the governor submitted a proposed budget and the legislature was prohibited from increasing budget items in the executive branch budget, adding new appropriations to the executive branch agencies, or moving funds from one program to another. In other words, the governor held most of the cards, but the governor did not have the authority to sign or veto the operating budget. The budget went into law after its enactment by the legislature (but, as discussed, the legislature did not have carte blanche authority to make changes to the governor’s proposed budget). Like every state there were exceptions, like the legislature’s ability to influence supplemental appropriations bills, but overall, the legislature had relatively little power compared to other states. 

However, Maryland voters approved Question 1 in 2020, which granted the legislature additional power over the budget. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2024, the legislature has the authority to change funding levels for all three branches of government as long as the changes to the executive branch funding do not exceed the total amount of executive branch funding in the governor’s proposed budget. In return, the governor now has the authority to line-item veto select provisions where the legislature increased funding to the governor’s proposed budget for the executive branch. The legislature can override the veto with a three-fifths majority. If the legislature fails to override the veto, the funding reverts back to what was included in the governor’s proposed budget (or the provision becomes void if it was added by the legislature but not included in the governor’s budget). 

Proponents of the Initiative argued that this change incentivizes the governor’s office and the legislature to work more collaboratively and better disperses the budgeting powers. Voters approved the measure overwhelmingly with nearly 75 percent of the vote. It remains to be seen how significantly this impacts upcoming budgets in Maryland. 

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This article appeared in our Morning MultiState newsletter on March 26, 2024. For more timely insights like this, be sure to sign up for our Morning MultiState weekly morning tipsheet. We created Morning MultiState with state government affairs professionals in mind — sign up to receive the latest from our experts in your inbox every Tuesday morning. Click here to sign up.