Maryland casinos to fund education
The government of Maryland plans to channel funds generated by casinos to the education system.
US.- During a weekly meeting, Maryland State’s Governor Larry Hogan announced plans to improve educational programs. As revealed by the official press, Hogan would sign a measure to channel funds generated by licensed casino operations to local schools. The governor plans to collect US$4.4 billion with the plan.
The educational programs will be boosted by casino revenue that the government obtains through current taxing system. Hogan would implement a proposal presented by the Democratic leaders of the General Assembly to set a “lockbox” for casino revenue in order to channel the entire funding to educational plans.
The Republicans have however questioned the project, arguing that there is no confirmation about the fiscal viability of the plan and the strength of the “lock,” as well as the total amount the government aspires to collect. The opposition argued that state’s schools need further funding than US$4 billion.
“It means that somebody’s going to have to find some more revenue or cut the budget a whole lot,” said Warren Deschenaux, the recently retired chief of the Department of Legislative Services, to the Baltimore Sun newspaper.
Meanwhile, Hogan commented: “We’re not going to need to raise taxes to maintain this commitment.” If there were an emergency, he said, other spending would have to be cut.
