April 10, 2012 The Honorable Governor Martin OMalley Office of the Governor Maryland State House 100

State Circle Annapolis, MD 21401-1925 Dear Honorable Governor OMalley: Last night the Maryland General Assembly adjourned Sine Die having enacted a contingency budget that I do not believe is in the best interests of Marylands residents. By failing to pass necessary revenue enhancement legislation, we concluded the 2012 General Assembly Session with avoidable unfinished business. The current Maryland budget for FY2013 as adopted cuts $512 million from critical State and local programs, nearly $60 million in local aid to Baltimore City, and, most troubling, at least $25 million in funding that goes directly to the benefit of the students of the Baltimore City Public Schools. The current state of budgetary affairs for FY2013 is unacceptable and does not do justice to hardworking Marylanders who entrust us, their State elected officials, to advocate on their behalf. When I speak to my friends, family, and neighbors within my District, I know wholeheartedly that they are tired of contemporary political gamesmanship. They are tired of looking to their elected officials for leadership and finding, instead, an ongoing effort to blame another group or person or party for stalling another policy, another budget, another idea. I sincerely believe, however, that when it comes to Marylands FY2013 budget, we are all at fault. We all had a role in the enactment of this budget, and we all made mistakes along the way. We now have a choice: We can spend time allocating blame, or we can work together to fix this clearly identifiable problem. I believe in your leadership. I believe in the leadership of President of the Maryland Senate. I believe in the leadership of Marylands Speaker of the House. And I thoroughly believe in the leadership of my colleagues in the Maryland General Assembly. Given the opportunity, we can and will develop a budget reconciliation and revenue package that will fix our current State budget problem. With these thoughts in mind, I respectfully urge you to call the Maryland General Assembly into a Special Session with all due haste. I ask that through your leadership, you enable us to collaborate and finish the work that we were elected to do. Too many Marylanders have entrusted in us their faith in government, and now is the moment that we must work together to honor our obligation to secure Marylands promising future. Thank you for your consideration of this important matter. Best,

Bill Ferguson Maryland State Senator 46th Legislative District