Melony Griffith
DTo be claimed
Former Vice Chair, Capital Budget Subcommittee, Maryland State House of Delegates
Former Member, Civil Law and Procedure Subcommittee, Maryland State House of Delegates
Former Member, Joint Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, Maryland State House of Delegates
Former Member, Joint Committee on the Selection of the State Treasurer, Maryland State House of Delegates
Former Member, Judiciary Committee, Maryland State House of Delegates
Former Member, Public Safety and Administration Subcommittee, Maryland State House of Delegates
Former Member, Transportation and the Environment Subcommittee, Maryland State House of Delegates
Former Vice Chair, Capital Budget Subcommittee, Maryland State House of Delegates
Former Member, Civil Law and Procedure Subcommittee, Maryland State House of Delegates
Former Member, Joint Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, Maryland State House of Delegates
Former Member, Joint Committee on the Selection of the State Treasurer, Maryland State House of Delegates
Former Member, Judiciary Committee, Maryland State House of Delegates
Former Member, Public Safety and Administration Subcommittee, Maryland State House of Delegates
Former Member, Transportation and the Environment Subcommittee, Maryland State House of Delegates
Member, Budget and Taxation
Member, Executive Nominations
Member, Legislative Ethics
Member, Marijuana Legalization Workgroup
Co-Chair, Pensions
Member, Spending Affordability
Member, Subcommittee on Education, Business, and Administration
Chair, Subcommittee on Pensions
— Awards:
East Coast Third World Leadership Summit award for Outstanding Leadership, 2009
In November 2009, Maryland lawmakers learned how deep the pension gap was. Maryland's pension funds were missing $17.5 billion more than the state had put aside (a total of $28.6 billion).
The state was expected to have to add $189 million to its teacher and employee pension funds by the following year. Officials with the State Retirement Agency explained results from fiscal year 2009 to the legislature. The $17.5 billion needed to close the gap was in addition to the approximately $28.6 billion that the pension office had already set aside.
The liabilities were due over a 25-year span, but oversight committee members differed about how quickly the state should catch up. Griffith, then the House Chair of the Special Joint Committee on Pensions, said it was not wise nor feasible to put aside much more than what was required the following year.
“It’s far too early to make changes to the way that the system is funded,” Griffith said.
The drop came largely from an $8 billion investment loss in 2008. The state’s pension investments took a big hit during a year of market unease.