Fiduciary fund types include the expendable trust fund, pension trust funds and agency funds. Agency funds
are custodial in nature and do not report fund balances. All other fiduciary fund types reported fund balances of
$25,388,805,000 at June 30, 1997, compared to $21,529,390,000 at June 30, 1996.

The State Retirement and Pension System of Maryland was established to provide pension benefits for State
employees and employees of 128 participating political subdivisions and 98 participating municipal corporations
within the State. The Mass Transit Administration Pension Plan was established to provide pension benefits for all
Mass Transit Administration employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement and all those management
employees who were employed by the Baltimore Transit Company. The annual actuarial valuation continues to
reflect a positive trend in the government's and employees' funding of the pension plans.

The total fund balance for the higher education component units was $2,877,398,000 at June 30,1997 compared
to $2,625,704,000 at June 30, 1996. Retained earnings for the proprietary component units totaled $212,562,000 for
June 30, 1997. This represents an increase from 1996 of $24,074,000, $1,551,000 and $352,000 for the Maryland
Stadium Authority, the Maryland Food Center Authority and the Maryland Environmental Service, respectively, and
a $1,669,000 decrease for the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority.

DEBT ADMINISTRATION

The ratios of net bonded debt to assessed property value, debt to present market value, and bonded debt per
capita are considered to be useful indicators of the State's debt position to State management, citizens and
investors. Data for fiscal years 1996 and 1997 are shown as follows:

		Ratio of Net	Ratio of
		Bonded Debt	Debt to
	Amount	to Assessed	Present	Bonded
	(expressed	Value (46.4% of	Market	Debt Per
	in thousands)	Present Market)	Value	Capita
General obligation bonds:
1996	$2,859,939	2.10%	.97	$567.17
1997	3,025,394	2.18%	1.01	596.49

Additionally, outstanding limited obligation bonds of the Department of Transportation and the Maryland
Transportation Authority amounted to $935,355,000 and $391,938,000 respectively, at June 30,1997. Debt service on
the Department of Transportation bonds is provided principally by excise taxes levied by statute. Debt service on
the Maryland Transportation Authority is payable from revenues of the projects of the Authority. Self-supporting
revenue bonds outstanding at June 30,1997 amounted to $3,343,532,000. Long-term obligations for accrued annual
leave of $144,340,000 represent the value of accumulated earned but unused annual leave for general government
employees at June 30, 1997.

In 1978, the Capital Debt Affordability Committee was created to study the State's debt structure and to
recommend maximum limitations on annual debt authorizations. Although the recommendations of the Committee
are not binding on the State's General Assembly, the amounts of annual general obligation bond authorizations
effective for 1997 were within the limits established by the Committee. For the fiscal year 1997, new general
obligation bond authorizations amounted to $399,991,000 (net of deauthorization of prior projects of $12.1 million).

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