Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman, Lt. Governor Aruna Miller, and Treasurer Dereck Davis approved 71 initiatives representing a total expenditure of $646.8 million Wednesday during a meeting of the Board of Public Works, including a $55 million agreement between the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) and the Baltimore Ravens Limited Partnership for the initial renovations at the M&T Bank Stadium at Camden Yards Sports Complex.  

 

In 2022, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law that increased the MSA’s bond issuing authority to $1.2 billion, to be split evenly between Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium for capital improvements. MSA subsequently issued two series of bonds in 2023 to pay the costs of the initial capital improvements at M&T Bank Stadium. However, several factors, including increased construction costs and design changes, led to a $55 million funding shortage from what is available from the 2023 bonds. To cover the shortage and maintain the project schedule, the team agreed to commit up to $20 million in team funds with no expectation of reimbursement to the project, and an additional $35 million of team funds that could be reimbursed from bonds MSA expects to issue in 2026. 

 

When she voted to approve this item, Comptroller Lierman noted that the funds for this project were already allocated in the existing budget.  

 

Comptroller Lierman was the lone vote against extending three 2018 bond bills and one bond bill from 2019. 

 

“I was taught in school that a deadline is a deadline, and I think seven years provides adequate opportunity for organizations to spend the money that the state government has granted to them,” Comptroller Lierman said. She explained her vote was based on the length of time it took organizations to spend the money, and not the merits of the projects. “There's not an unlimited amount of capital funding that the state has. In fact, I think last year there was over $195 million in requests and the General Assembly was only able to meet half the need. I think it is really important that organizations not ask for capital funding until they are ready to spend it.”  

 

Comptroller Lierman recused herself from voting on a Department of General Services (DGS) award of $445 million for technology modernization and staff to 39 firms at Statewide Agile Resource and Teams, which supports the work of Maryland’s health and human services benefit programs on the MD THINK platform, including the Department of Human Services, Maryland Department of Health, Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, and the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.  

 

DGS received 19 protests to the contract award, with two of those protests sustained, and 17 denied. Lt. Governor Miller and Treasurer Davis voted in favor of the contract.  

 

In all, the Board of Public Works approved 71 items, representing a total State expenditure of $646,836,739.71, including: 

 

• Grant agreements for five recipients for five projects located in five counties with a total value of $2,337,000. 

• Three items awarding $19,018,560.27 to prime certified small business primes 

• Three items awarding $19,245,609.80 to certified minority business enterprise primes 

• Two items awarding $1,540,729.76 to Employment Works Program providers 

• Seven items awarded with established participation goals for minority business enterprises 

• Three items awarded with established participation goals for veteran-owned small business enterprises. 

 

The next meeting of the Board of Public Works is March 19, 2025.