Maryland agriculture budget hearing spotlights LEAF program, avian flu reimbursements and electric-vehicle charger oversight

The House Appropriations Committee Transportation and Environment Subcommittee heard March-style budget testimony on the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) proposed fiscal 2026 operating budget, where analysts said the agency’s spending would fall about $6.9 million to roughly $125.9 million and highlighted program cuts, new initiatives and unresolved reimbursement questions.

The Department of Legislative Services’ analyst Andrew Gray presented the DLS review, telling the committee that the MDA allowance “decreases around $6,900,000 or 5.2% to $125,900,000,” and noting several specific items affecting that change, including a $2.2 million reversion tied to tree plantings under the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. Gray said that money was tied to the Tree Solutions Now Act and likely will appear as a budget reconciliation financing act consideration.

DLS recommended several contingent reductions and restrictions, including trimming a proposed $900,000 appropriation for a new Maryland Leaders in Environmentally Engaged Farming (LEAF) program down to $500,000 in year one and restricting $100,000 until the program files a required report. Gray said DLS wants the department to clarify whether program funding would come from contracts versus grants and how many positions the program would require.

Kevin Addick, secretary of the Maryland Department of Agriculture, thanked DLS for the review, described a recent hiring surge and defended proposed staffing tied to new statutory programs. On LEAF, Addick said the program was designed to “reward[] farmers for stacking practices” that improve Chesapeake Bay conservation and to connect farmers with procurement opportunities at state institutions. "LEAF will help us connect those dots," Addick said, describing LEAF as intended to increase both conservation practices and farmer engagement with existing state purchasing programs.

The committee pressed MDA for details on highly pathogenic avian influenza response costs and federal reimbursement. Heather Barthel, assistant secretary for administration, said MDA had submitted an emergency cooperative agreement and a pre-award to the U.S. Department of Agriculture; she explained the pre-award “preserves the funding for the work that you're already completing before the emergency cooperative agreement is approved” and noted USDA had since approved the department’s emergency cooperative agreement for reimbursement of eligible costs.

Electric‑vehicle (EV) charging station oversight also drew sustained attention. DLS noted MDA currently has statutory authority for accuracy of EV chargers through its Weights and Measures program but lacks a clear role and equipment to enforce reliability or uptime. Rachel Jones, MDA director of government relations, said a work group concluded the legislature should determine which agency is responsible for reliability and that if MDA assumed that duty it would need equipment, vehicles and inspectors — which drove higher fiscal estimates in the department’s fiscal note for that bill (cited as SB 913 and cross-filed legislative discussion with a house crossbill). Jones said MDA’s estimates were higher because the agency currently lacks in‑house expertise, equipment and staff for reliability monitoring.

MDA also described two information‑technology items DLS had flagged. Barthel said an unusual accounting correction by the Department of Information Technology gave the appearance of a large one‑time increase for a multi‑agency project (the MDITP1 project). She said the increase was an accounting attribution for work performed 2018–2024 and did not reflect a new cash requirement for MDA in fiscal 2026.

Several agricultural support programs were discussed during public testimony. Rural Maryland Council leaders said recent cuts — including a 33% reduction in state pass‑throughs — would reduce awards and hamper local business support. Charlotte Davis, executive director of the Rural Maryland Council, said the council received more than 200 applications last year and awarded about $6 million; she urged restoring previously reduced funding.

Committee members also asked about other agency responsibilities and reporting. DLS noted a missing combined enforcement‑inspection report MDA said had been merged with the Maryland Department of the Environment’s submission; DLS recommended that the narrative and the joint report be added to next year’s materials.

What’s next: DLS recommended several budget adjustments in its report (personnel reductions tied to vacancy data, restricting LEAF funding pending the program’s statutory creation and trimming a $2 million federal grant the agency expects not to receive). The committee did not take a formal vote on MDA items during the hearing; questions and follow‑up requests for the department’s written responses and clarifications were made on the record.

Clarifying details noted at the hearing include the DLS recommended reduction of $2.0 million tied to tree planting and a DLS vacancy count of about 45 positions as of Dec. 31, 2024; MDA later reported an estimated vacancy rate of 4.68% after recent hiring. DLS identified a $25 million cover crop program line within MDA’s Office of Resource Conservation and highlighted a $4.4 million increase in one IT project and a large $29.4 million concentration of IT funding in fiscal 2027 for another project that DLS asked the agency to explain.