ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Maryland Senate voted unanimously Thursday for the state’s $40 billion budget.
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Democrats and Republicans spoke positively about the bipartisanship that went into the Senate’s budget work, which hasn’t resulted in a unanimous vote in years. ...
Lawmakers made extra cuts to restore scaled-back education funding initially proposed in Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s budget to help fill a $750 million shortfall. A 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment for state employees also has been restored. The House of Delegates already has passed the budget legislation. Now, the House and Senate will work out some differences between the two chambers before the legislative session adjourns on April 13. ...
Part of the budget plan involves changing the state’s pension funding system. Some Republicans criticized the tapping of about half of a $150 million extra payment into the pension system, designed to shore up the state’s pension plan. Sen. Bryan Simonaire, R-Anne Arundel, pushed to have the money put back into the pension system in future years, but his proposal failed on a 15-31 vote.
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