By: Nicholas Sohr

House Speaker Michael E. Busch said Tuesday he did not see “a whole lot of proposals to increase taxes” in the Gov. Martin O’Malley’s upcoming budget proposal.

“We talked about adjusting some of the exemptions that currently exist in the law, particularly on high earners,” said Busch, D-Anne Arundel, after a meeting with O’Malley and legislative leaders that lasted more than an hour.

The governor’s budget will also seek to shift some of the cost of teacher pensions to the counties, Busch said, but would also “give the counties revenue opportunities to make up the difference.”

The speaker said O’Malley’s budget includes an increase of $108 million in K-12 education funding for a total of about $6 billion.

“It’s a huge investment,” he said. “Almost half of our budget goes to education and higher education.”

Busch said the group discussed transportation funding, but said “there was no specific proposal.”

Raquel Guillory, the governor’s spokeswoman, said transportation funding, including a gas tax hike, is still being discussed, but would not be part of the governor’s budget proposal on Wednesday.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said earlier Tuesday that he likes where the governor is headed on that issue.

“We’ve talked about the numbers back and forth,” said Miller, D-Calvert and Prince George’s.