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$400 million cut from House budget

By Brian Witte
March 20, 2008

ANNAPOLIS (AP) — The House of Delegates yesterday gave an initial approval to a budget with more than $400 million in cuts and spending transfers, hoping to create an adequate balance to weather any more fiscal downturns.

Republicans argued that the cuts were insufficient, and Democrats turned away amendments that would have cut the $31.2 billion budget further.

One of the most prominent proposed cuts was a plan to remove the entire $23 million in Gov. Martin O'Malley's budget for stem-cell research. The House voted to cut Mr. O'Malley's proposal to $15 million. A version of the budget passed by the Senate last week trims Mr. O'Malley's proposal to $5 million.

Delegate Tony McConkey, Anne Arundel Republican, said the fund already has millions of dollars that haven't been spent. "I think this is a reasonable amendment given our fiscal situation," he said.

Delegate John L. Bohanan Jr., St. Mary's Democrat, said the elimination of funding could wipe out the stem-cell program.

"One year of hiatus causes enough disruption to this program that we may as well opt out of it and not fund it ever again," Mr. Bohanan said.

House Minority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell, Southern Maryland Republican, proposed deeper cuts: reducing transportation spending, eliminating 900 vacant state jobs and postponing an extension of health care to the uninsured.

He said the state needs to be prepared if the economy worsens and a referendum on legalized slot machine gambling fails in November.

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