Maryland House Republicans on Monday demanded the state attorney general investigate the State Highway Administration after an audit determined the agency spent over $350 million in unauthorized funds.
House Republicans called on Attorney General Anthony G. Brown to probe the findings of the Department of Legislative Services, released Sept. 11, that showed SHA spent $358.7 million in unauthorized expenditures. The audit found that the SHA had not provided documentation for $449 million of accrued funds, which may not be recoverable.
The audit found that SHA’s unauthorized spending increased by 3,252% from June 2024 to August 2024, with $163.5 million spent. The audit also found that SHA did not ensure payment was given to architectural and engineering vendors for contracted services.
Maryland House Republicans said the unauthorized spending came from taxpayers’ pockets.
“Over the last two years, the governor and Democratic leadership have imposed massive tax and fee increases on Maryland drivers to close gaps in the Transportation Trust Fund,” House Minority Leader Jason Buckel said in a statement. “To now be told there has been an ongoing effort, bordering on malfeasance, to hide the true breadth of that deficit is incredibly disturbing. The Attorney General must review these findings.”
Gov. Wes Moore’s office did not respond to a request for comment Monday or to previous requests sent by The Baltimore Sun last week. A spokesperson for the SHA also did not respond Monday.
Within the audit, the SHA responded to the Department of Legislative Services’ findings. The SHA said that none of the projects funded were unauthorized, though the excessive funds were unauthorized, according to the report.
“It is accurate that in some cases, expenses charged exceeded the initial authorized amount,” SHA said in its response. “The State Highway Administration followed federally approved accounting practices and no expenses were purposefully miscoded.”
The agency agreed with the finding that it was not paying for services, attributing it to “human error.”
Maryland House Republicans asked Brown to look into the unauthorized expenses in order to ensure Maryland residents are not paying more for transportation than necessary.
“The citizens of Maryland have been forced to pay significantly more for transportation,” House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy said. “Whether that be in registration fees or gasoline costs. Now, not only has their trust been violated, but they may be on the hook for even more costs. This goes beyond gross mismanagement; this could be fraudulent activity. Our citizens deserve better.”
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