Much was made (in fact, John Carney made much of) this Executive Order signed by the Governor on June 30, 2018. He did this after the General Assembly declined to consider a hastily-introduced constitutional amendment that would have required the adoption of ‘budget smoothing’ throughout the budgetary process. As opponents of this attempt to railroad Chamber/Concord Coalition/Ken Simpler doublespeak through in the waning legislative days pointed out, this would tie the hands of the legislators and would primarily saddle those most in need of government services with future cuts. It would also, and there’s no coincidence here, generally prevent implementation of new revenues on the moneyed class. It would have sailed through had not progressives and labor supporters in the House D Caucus not stepped up and refused to provide the super-majority votes required for passage. (BTW, not a bleat from the same Chamber of Commerce that lamented the passage if a minimum wage bill that was introduced months ago was heard in opposition to the railroading of this constitutional amendment.)
So, John Carney, summoning up his inner Donald Trump, announced he was going to sign an Executive Order, oh, and he would bar the public from the ceremony. Flanked by three bespectacled white guys, he did so.
Here’s the problem, which isn’t really a problem, but I digress. The Executive Order only extends, and can only extend, to agencies under the Governor’s control.
Hence:
1. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall:
a. Recognize for reporting and budget planning purposes only within the General Fund, a Budget Stabilization Fund (“Stabilization Fund”)
b. Allocate to the Stabilization Fund, as part of the preparation of the Governor’s proposed budget to the General Assembly…
And so on. He also requires DEFAC to estimate revenues, population growth, and the like, for three years out, in developing the revenue estimates.
The problem, which isn’t really a problem, is that, once the Governor’s budget is submitted, this stuff is no longer operative unless JFC chooses to include it. Which they almost certainly won’t do if it means that the budget will have to be balanced on the backs of those least able to afford it.
The real problem is that this entire charade was presented as some sort of budget-neutral magic solution when, in fact, it was the brainchild of the same corporate puppeteers who used Jack Markell (not that he was opposed to being used) to push through all sorts of goodies for the Chamber and for the most-connected of the business community. And John Carney, who still polishes that ‘award’ he got from the Chamber, is incapable of thinking on his own. If it’s good for the Chamber, and if Pete Peterson approves (they did cryogenically freeze his brain, didn’t they?), it’s good enough for our green-eyeshade governor.
When you think about it, Carney signing this Executive Order is embarassing. I think it’s also a precursor to his increased impotence during the upcoming lame-duck session of the General Assembly that begins in 2019. Does anybody want four more years of this?