In our last commentary, we asked how the governor could claim a 2025 surplus when Maryland has a $25.7 billion shortfall. Our analysis shows the state has only $35.7 billion in assets available to pay $61.4 billion in bills.

I’m a certified public accountant who founded Truth in Accounting more than 20 years ago to reveal governments’ true financial condition from their own reports: no political spin, just the numbers and the accounting rules that obscure them.

While we await a response, we have another question for Gov. Wes Moore, Comptroller Brooke Lierman and the legislators: How do you define “investing”?

In finance, investing means committing money now, expecting the original amount plus a return later. That runs contrary to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board’s (GASB) view that government’s purpose is to provide services and account for public resources, not generate profit.

Is the state making a profit from tax dollars? If so, who benefits, the government or taxpayers? A real return should mean lower taxes. Are these “investments” meant to expand spending, pay down debt or cut taxes?

Those questions get answers in the private sector. In Maryland government, they do not. What happened to the money? Was it lost, returned with a gain or a wash? Taxpayers deserve to know.

In Maryland’s 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), Lierman said the 2026 budget would invest $128 million in high-growth industries such as quantum computing, biotechnology and cybersecurity. Define high-growth. What was the return? Buying stock or writing checks? Who received the money? We would like to see the guiding documents.

In the Fiscal Year 2026 budget passed last year, Moore said he turned a $3 billion deficit into a surplus while “investing” in Marylanders. By this April, the “surplus” was gone and analysts faced a $1.5 billion shortfall. A cash surplus at budget time and a structural hole months later does not pass a common-sense test.

Maryland must balance only on a cash basis. The audited ACFR uses GASB rules and arrives long after the next budget is locked in. The two documents tell different stories. Families and corporations cannot run two sets of books. Under full-accrual standards, expenses are recognized when incurred, not when cash leaves the account. Held to those standards, Maryland would not call itself in surplus; it cannot cover bills already promised.

Cash transfers, fund swaps, delayed pension contributions and one-time revenues can make the budget look balanced while the ACFR still shows a hole. Governor, when you claimed a surplus, were you describing cash or the audited ACFR? For accuracy and transparency, would you be willing to hold the government to the full-accrual standards required of corporations?

Asked if he would pause spending given the 2027 shortfall, the governor cited four balanced budgets and more “investments.” Government rules let borrowed money count as budget revenue, so a new line of credit can “balance” the books. For everyone else, adding a credit card signals a problem. Maryland’s constitution already requires a balanced budget, as do all states except Vermont. Delivering that required document is not an achievement.

The $128 million is already in the rear-view mirror. Ordinary people would ask what they got and whether it performed. Audited numbers will not appear until December or January. Meanwhile, officials explain why next year’s larger budget is already short. Last year’s investments did not improve the state’s finances.

Known outlays include:

• $20 million for IonQ’s headquarters: What was the net gain for taxpayers?
• $12 million to recruit quantum experts to the University of Maryland and its Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security. How many people will be recruited, and how much do taxpayers already spend on the universities?
• $400 million to rebuild Pimlico Race Course. Where is the investment thesis and expected return?
• $50 million to purchase Laurel Park. Again, same question.
• $85 million in bonds for IP rights to the Preakness Stakes. Where is the bond offering document?

Ordinary investors choose their own risk. Maryland residents do not. Officials deploy public money with little to no transparency or accountability.

For the governor, comptroller and legislators, again, what is your definition of investing? And who is it serving, the expansion of government or tax relief?

Our goal is not to criticize any administration. It is to report the numbers and expose rules that hide the truth. We will cover the 2026 audited report when it is released. Until then, Maryland still has a $25.7 billion shortfall. The word “investment” does not change that.

Sheila Weinberg is the founder and CEO of Truth in Accounting, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving government financial transparency.