After starting the year with a large surplus, Maryland is projected to have a nine-figure structural deficit entering the next fiscal year. A former budget secretary said the state government’s projected budget shortfall “will very likely” be higher than what initial estimates show. Lawmakers entered the last legislative session with a multibillion-dollar surplus, but Maryland is now projected to have a $418 million deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2024, according to the Department of Legislative Services.
