Maryland Gubernatorial Candidate Townsend Releases Budget Proposal, Debates Mental Health Issues With Opponent Ehrlich

Maryland gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D) last week released a detailed budget plan that she said would balance the current budget and next year's budget and would establish a prescription drug benefit for seniors, the Baltimore Sun reports. Townsend's plan would raise Maryland's cigarette tax -- the fourth-highest in the nation -- from $1 per pack to $1.36 per pack, which would provide the state with an estimated $105 million in additional revenue each year. Townsend had said that she would raise the cigarette tax in her second year in office to fund health care programs, but under the plan released last week, the increase could "come sooner, with revenue going to other state programs," the Sun reports (Nitkin, Baltimore Sun, 9/27). In addition, Townsend's plan would sell 10% of Maryland's $151 million annual tobacco settlement payments over the next nine years for $100 million to help cover the state's estimated $414 million budget deficit in fiscal year 2003, which began July 1. Townsend also said that she would consider the sale of an additional 30% of the annual payments for $300 million to help cover an estimated $1.3 billion budget deficit for the next fiscal year. According to the Washington Times, the plan would leave Maryland with annual payments of $55 million, which "would be enough" to fund health care and other programs scheduled to receive settlement funds (Miller, Washington Times, 9/27). Health advocates have criticized the plan, which they said could endanger anti-cancer programs funded with the state's annual tobacco settlement payments, the Sun reports (Baltimore Sun, 9/27). Townsend also promised that she would not reduce funds for public safety or K-12 education programs but said that "all other programs would be subject to a spending freeze," according to the Times (Washington Times, 9/27).

Townsend, Ehrlich Address Mental Health
Townsend and rival gubernatorial candidate Rep. Robert Ehrlich (R-Md.) on Sept. 27 both expressed support for Maryland mental health programs but said that "budget constraints" would limit funds for the state's mental health system next year, the Baltimore Sun reports. In separate addresses to a forum of 500 mental health advocates sponsored by the Maryland Mental Health Coalition, both candidates promised not to reduce Medicaid benefits for state residents who require mental health services. However, neither candidate promised to raise payments for the state's system of mental health providers. Townsend said that the state could use revenue raised by the 36-cent per-pack cigarette tax increase in her budget proposal to cover the cost of mental health services. Townsend added that she supports "community-based treatment options" and said that if elected, she would hold a summit to discuss housing for adults with mental illness (Nitkin, Baltimore Sun, 9/28). Townsend also said that "she was not responsible for the state's debt-ridden mental health system" and blamed Gov. Parris Glendening (D) for the problems, the Washington Post reports. "He put together the budget and decided where the money should go. I fought to increase funding for mental health, but he made the final decision," Townsend said. Ehrlich told members of the forum not to allow Townsend to "divorce herself" from the budget decisions of the Glendening administration, to which mental health advocates attribute more than 12 clinic closures in the state in the past two years. "Mental health in this state is $70 million underfunded and has not been a priority of this administration for eight years. ... The numbers show it. The clinic closings show it. The suicides show it," Ehrlich said (Mosk, Washington Post, 9/28). Ehrlich said that if elected, he would sign an executive order to overturn a state rule that requires parents of mentally ill children to surrender custody of their children for them to receive long-term treatment. He added that his congressional background could help Maryland attract more federal Medicaid funds for state mental health programs. "Mental health is a primary job of the government in this day and age. I believe I bring a great deal of credibility," Ehrlich said (Baltimore Sun, 9/28).