Maryland

Maryland Governor Wes Moore unveiled his $70.8 billion budget proposal that is designed to close a $1.5 billion gap via cuts, fund transfers and swaps of bonds for cash.

A squabble between the U.S. Department of Transportation and the state of Maryland appears to be moving towards a resolution which effects two major bridges in the Washington D.C. – Baltimore region.

The Maryland Department of Transportation's acting secretary said the bill would provide "greater transparency and accountability in transportation spending decisions."

Maryland is currently battling federal job losses and string of financial challenges but is starting the new year with a new triple-A rating on its general obligation bonds complete with a stable outlook.

New cost estimates for the repair of tolled Key Bridge in Baltimore, which is already under scrutiny by the Trump administration, indicate the price could be as much as $5.2 billion, more than double the original number.

Maryland's Capital Debt Affordability Committee is recommending the state stick to its guns by endorsing a plan to borrow up to $1.75 billion for capital projects in the coming fiscal year, despite the job shedding inflicted by the Trump administration's plans to shrink the federal government.

"The project is not dead," said the transportation planning board chair.

The Department of Transportation is offering its Consolidated Transportation Bonds in a competitive sale Wednesday to what promises to be a receptive market.

The administration wants the project "to be a model of how to build quickly and cost effectively," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.

Maryland's comptroller reports the state is projecting a $189 million drop in general fund revenue due to the unfolding effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which could result in the state decoupling from federal tax laws.

The state has teed up a $21.5 billion, six-year transportation budget as it deals with the fallout from federal workforce cuts, a credit downgrade, and a feud with the Trump administration.

The Trump administration has denied Maryland's request for Federal Emergency Management Agency funding to aid communities on the western side of the state who were flooded out in May.

The effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill have yet to make a dent in state and local budgets as market experts and academics look into the future with concern.

Moody's has downwardly revised the outlook for Baltimore's issuer rating and several classes of bonds due to a trend of declining fund balance levels in a city dependent on a major international shipping port.

The state of Maryland is going to market on Wednesday by selling $1.56 billion of general obligation bonds, which will be the first major sale since the state absorbed a credit downgrade from Moody's.

Maryland is preparing for upcoming bond sales as the state treasurer responds to a Moody's downgrade by suggesting the state part ways with the rating agency.

Moody's downgrading of Maryland's credit rating is resulting in finger pointing among state lawmakers, questions about spending levels, and concerns about the state's spotless record.

State officials called the one-notch rating cut to Aa1 with a stable outlook "a Trump downgrade" due to the state's heightened exposure to presidential policies.

S&P revised the outlook for the Maryland Transportation Authority's outstanding revenue bonds to negative from stable due to the timing of the federal funding needed to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge that was damaged by a cargo freighter in March 2024.

Maryland lawmakers proposed a new tax on business-to-business transactions to close a $3 billion budget gap amid the firing of thousands of federal employees.