Maryland General Assembly Approved $16 Million in New Pork Spending for Local Projects
The Maryland General Assembly approved $16 million in new debt for 156 local pork projects during the 2014 legislative session.
Known in Annapolis as bond bills, they are submitted by legislators, but are not voted on individually by the assembly, rather they are added to the capital budget via the amendment process. The projects are funded through general obligation bonds authorized in the Maryland Consolidated Capital Bond Loan 0f 2014, which totaled $1.2 billion.
According to the 2014 90 Day Report, Montgomery County led all jurisdictions with $2.5 million in bond bill funding for items such as $300,000 for renovations of The Writers Center at Glen Echo Park, and $100,000 for repair and renovations of the Black Box Theater.
Baltimore City and Prince George’s County received $2.4 and $2.3 million in new local bond bill funding.
Funding for new local bond projects decreased by nearly $4 billion from last year. Total capital budget spending on bond bills, which includes projects approved in previous sessions, totaled $61 million.
According to previous 90 Day Reports, since 2007 the legislature has approved $146 million in new local bond projects averaging $18.2 million per year.
