Constitutional issues are not silly. That?s what the state?s highest court said by agreeing to hear a Republican lawsuit aiming to overturn the $1.4 billion in tax increases passed during last year?s special session.
Someone needed to say so. Attorney General Doug Gansler, the state?s chief legal officer, seems to think some of the state constitution?s provisions should be ignored as do the Democratic leaders in the General Assembly. Both argued the suit should be dismissed. When the suit was filed, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller called it “bungled legal reasoning and frivolous.”
Obviously some of our state?s most respected jurists do not concur.
The GOP suit argues the tax increases must be revoked because the House did not properly consent to an extended adjournment by the Senate during the special session as required by the Maryland Constitution. It also says the decision to legalize slots resides with the legislature, not the people, and seeks to void the referendum on them in the fall.
Carroll County Circuit Judge Thomas Stansfield in January chastised General Assembly leaders for not following appropriate procedures and for “egregious” behavior. But he dismissed the GOP claim that breaking the rules should void the tax legislation, and he said the slots referendum did not violate the constitution.
While the GOP filed the suit, the question behind it is not a partisan issue. It?s about ruling by the rules. The party in power should not be able to rewrite or ignore constitutional regulations for the sake of convenience ? especially with $1.4 billion at stake. Remember, these were not just house codes of etiquette the Democratic leadership ignored, but the state?s highest laws, designed to ensurea fair and open legislative process. Nietzsche would be proud of the Democrats, but civilized society should be appalled.
The court should overturn the tax increases to enforce the importance of abiding by the Maryland Constitution. But even if it does not, the lawsuit highlights the intemperance of dealing with massive tax increases in the hurried time frame of the special session. Gov. Martin O?Malley could have avoided the whole fiasco by debating tax increases during the regular session to give time to legislators and Marylanders to digest budget information and set priorities for the “common good.”
