ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Parris N. Glendening released his $1.1 billion capital budget and $9.1 billion transportation budget proposals Tuesday, cutting them by $400 million each from previous budgets.
Despite the cuts, Glendening maintained that he kept his campaign promises in the midst of an economic recession.
Education, community investment and the environment were the big winners for this year’s capital funds, garnering more than two-thirds of the budget.
No new major projects were funded.
“This capital budget honors our commitments and invests in our priorities,” Glendening said.
The transportation and capital budgets continued the state’s fiscal austerity. Last week, Glendening released his $22 billion operating budget that relied on a delay in a planned tax cut and depleted budget reserves to keep it in the black.
With next year’s capital allocations, spending for public school, higher education, and environmental construction projects will reach about $1.7 billion each since Glendening took office.
The money has allowed Maryland to remain competitive with other states educationally and has preserved more than 1 million acres, Glendening said.
More than 65 percent of the construction money will come from general obligation bonds. In the past, Maryland was able to save money by paying for such projects with cash.
Glendening said he was taking advantage of low interest rates currently available.
“This is a good, progressive capital budget that makes fiscally responsible investments in our people.”
However, general obligation bond debt in the new capital budget exceeds recommended limits by more than $200 million, legislative analysts said Monday.
Fiscal analysts also criticized the capital budget for falling short of mandated construction on community colleges. Total higher education funding grew $300 million to about $1.7 billion.
Public school construction funding topped $1.6 billion, more than $200 million over 2002.
Transit money was earmarked for the expansion of Baltimore/Washington International Airport, the Metro extension to Largo, and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge expansion. Glendening said it also followed Smart Growth principles.