ANNAPOLIS, MD — Talk with any lawmaker in Annapolis and it's easy to see, the budget and public safety are at the top of their mind.
Today, lawmakers were briefed on major pieces of both issues.
"Listening is one of the most important aspects of our job so having experts come and tell us really what's happening is so critical to what we do," said Senator Jeff Waldstreicher, a Democrat from Montgomery County.
Starting in the senate, the Judicial Proceedings committee were discussing juvenile justice, hearing from current Department of Juvenile Services secretary Vincent Schiraldi.
"If you're afraid to walk around your own neighborhood, that's real. Even if the data doesn't support that, doesn't matter," said Schiraldi to the committee.
Senator Chris West who represents parts of Baltimore and Carroll Counties says the numbers for juvenile crime in Baltimore County are concerning.
"Shoplifting, it's up 76% on the year, for theft of a motor vehicle it's up 345% in Baltimore County in one year, this is a serious problem we need to get a grasp on," said West.
Senator Waldstreicher doesn't feel any major changes to current law are coming.
"So I don't think we're going to roll back any of the big reforms that we've done in past years but it's clear we need to take a second look at them and possibly tweak those laws," said Waldstreicher.
Across the street, delegates were hearing from local communities about the impact cuts to the transportation budget will have on them.
"There have been instances before where it has been easy to balance the budget on the back of Baltimoreans," said Mayor Brandon Scott.
The state is having to deal with a more than three billion dollar budget deficit for the transportation department over the next six years.
Governor Wes Moore announced today, $150 million will offset some of the cuts in the upcoming year.
This is being viewed as a band-aid.
"This is just a one time thing that does not address the problems in 26, 27, 28, 29, this is a serious issue, we need to prioritize in our budget how to go about these transportation projects," said Delegate Nino Mangione, a Republican from Baltimore County.
There are concerns from city leadership that the state's long term decisions could impact Baltimore more than other areas.
"63% is the cut to HUR(Highway User Revenue) for the city of Baltimore, that's more than the rest of the state combined so it overwhelmingly impacts the city of Baltimore."
Tomorrow, we'll get more information from the governor surrounding his fiscal year 2025 budget.
Hopefully giving us more insight into how the state will deal with the issue going forward.
