Maryland House approves budget and BRFA after hours of debate over taxes, schools and services

ANNAPOLIS, March 10, 2025 — The Maryland House of Delegates approved the state'wide spending plan for fiscal 2026 and a companion financing package after more than a day of floor debate that centered on proposed tax increases, funding for special education and services for people with disabilities, and transportation and infrastructure spending.

Supporters said the budget and the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act (BRFA) were necessary to avoid deeper cuts and to preserve services for vulnerable residents; opponents said the measures rely too heavily on new taxes and will shift costs to counties, renters and small businesses. "This budget is wrong, fiscally irresponsible," one speaker said in opposition; another said the bills protect people who will otherwise lose services and stabilize the state's finances amid federal changes.

The House voted to pass the main budget, House Bill 350 (fiscal year 2026), and later approved House Bill 352 (the BRFA of 2025). House clerks announced 100 affirmative votes on HB 350 and 93 affirmative votes on HB 352; both were declared to have achieved the constitutional majority required for passage.

Why it matters: Lawmakers and committee chairs said the measures respond to a projected multibillion-dollar structural shortfall and to revenue losses tied to federal actions that state analysts and Moody's cited as uniquely affecting Maryland. Supporters argued the package protects funding for schools and state services, restores critical funding cut…