The Fair Election Fund Commission voted unanimously on Monday, Dec. 8, to recommend that the county executive include $1,650,000 in fiscal year 2027 funding for the county's public campaign finance program. Chair moved the recommendation and Ricky Tucker seconded; the chair declared the motion adopted.

Shane Spencer, a budget office staffer, told commissioners the Fair Election Fund currently holds about $2.7 million, reflecting the FY2025 allocation of $1,000,000, the FY2026 allocation of $1,650,000, plus interest and small expenditures. If FY2027 repeats the FY2026 placeholder amount, cumulative recommended funding would rise to roughly $4.35 million, Spencer said.

"So to date, we are aware of 7 people that have registered a public finance campaign specifically," Spencer said, adding that candidates must reach a required number and amount of donations to qualify for matching funds and that no candidate has met those thresholds to date. "We have not dispersed any funding to candidates yet."

Spencer described two options if more candidates qualify than the Fund can cover: the commission could recommend supplemental funding for the county executive to propose; or, absent additional appropriations, the director of budget and finance would proportionally reduce matching funds so that all qualifying candidates receive the same percentage reduction. "There's no right to a minimum amount," he said.

Spencer referenced a Montgomery County legislative auditor report noting that Montgomery distributed an average of about $4.5 million across two elections, and said Baltimore County's lower population and median income informed the office's more conservative estimate.

The commission's formal recommendation now goes to the county executive as part of the budgeting process. Commissioners asked staff to provide updates as candidate registration and qualification activity increases ahead of the registration deadline in February.

Next steps: the commission will forward its recommendation for consideration in the executive's budget process and continue to monitor candidate qualification and potential need for supplemental funding or proportional reductions.