BALTIMORE — As Maryland’s budget season approaches, state Senate President Bill Ferguson said it’s imperative that the state continues to make capital investments in economic drivers like hospitals and higher education.
“We have to invest in the things that Maryland has a competitive edge in, and that is our education systems and our health care systems,” Ferguson, a Democrat, said in East Baltimore Monday after announcing the state was allocating $2 million to Kennedy Krieger Institute.
The funding announced Monday will go toward expanding facility space to increase access to health care services for children and adolescents in need of treatment.
More than half of the money is poised to transform approximately 16,000 square feet of administrative office space into care areas for patients with nervous system disorders.
The remaining $750,000 will be used to design and build a new care center on Kennedy Krieger’s East Baltimore campus.
According to Dr. Bradley Schlaggar, the president and CEO of Kennedy Krieger Institute, the hospital serves more than 27,000 patients and students annually. Schlaggar said Monday that the $2 million is very welcome because Kennedy Krieger’s inpatient hospital is too small and technologically out-of-date.
“We’re eager to use these funds that the state has made available to renovate this building to create more clinic space to see more patients sooner,” he said.
The money is coming from the state’s capital budget, which allocated over $3 billion for investment projects like the one announced Monday. It will benefit patients like Chris Mason-Hale, who turned to Kennedy Krieger for inpatient care in 2009 after his spinal cord was severed during a high school football game.
“I’m grateful that our state is committed to helping us build our hospital for the future,” said Mason-Hale, who now serves as a community advocate at Kennedy Krieger.
‘Tight budget season’
Though Ferguson is adamant about continuing to invest in Maryland’s economic drivers like health care and education, he and other members of state leadership are preparing to navigate choppy fiscal waters when the General Assembly convenes on Jan. 8.
“We’re here in the midst of a tight budget season because I want to make it very clear that we will continue to invest in the things that matter the most, and things like Kennedy Krieger and the institutions that are protecting for the welfare of the people of Maryland will be the priority — no matter how difficult the budget may be,” Ferguson said.
In November, budget analysts warned of a $2.7 billion deficit that lawmakers will have to resolve for the budget for the 2026 fiscal year either through slashed spending or an increase in taxes.
At several points during his first term, Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, said that he has a “high bar for increasing the tax burden on Maryland families,” but is aware of the mounting budget battle and robust debate ahead.
“In that moment of tension where we have to make hard choices around what future investments look like and what revenues are available, we have to focus on the things that matter the most for our long-term future, and it is the type of care that is provided in this place that has to be front and center as we make the decisions about the trade-offs that are going to be necessary moving forward,” said Ferguson.
The Senate President also stressed Monday that Maryland must live within its means and that tough choices will be made about what can be afforded in spite of high budgetary demand. He noted that the majority of the overrun is coming from entitlement programs, like Medicaid, child subsidies and increased salaries for state workers to attract people to fill the gaps in employment among agencies.
Ferguson said that these investments are strategic, and there will be “real consequences” if they are rolled back — “but we have to live within our means.”
“Everything’s on the table,” he said. “I think we have to be realistic about what resources we have and what we can achieve.”
———