Hogan’s decision to withhold capital budget info irks Md. lawmakers

State agencies preparing their upcoming capital budgets are being ordered by the Hogan administration to withhold the release of budget data to legislative analysts through the use of executive privilege. The change, announced in an email from a top state budget official, comes as the state prepares for a new governor and for new legislative budget powers. Barring legislative analysts from summer capital budget planning meetings upends a decades-old practice and caught lawmakers and their budget experts flat-footed. Michael Ricci, a Hogan spokesman, downplayed the change and said it was necessary because of new budget powers granted to the General Assembly.