The Rolling Stones said “You can?t always get what you want/But if you try sometimes you just might find/You get what you need.”
That is the story line of state Republicans of late. Members of the minority party sued to annul the tax hikes and to stop the slots referendum from going to a vote. Democratic legislators passed both in the special session last month.
If it works, taxpayers might just get what we need ? tax relief at a time of increasing economic uncertainty. The suit alleges, at least in part, a technicality. But fair is fair. Judges frequently dismiss serious criminal cases or exclude evidence because of legal technicalities.
Prosecutors and police must deal with those ? even when it means setting a criminal free.
Democrats must also respect the law. They can?t follow it when they feel like it and bypass it when inconvenient ? or even seemingly unfair.
Republicans claim that the legislature violated a clause in the state constitution that prohibits one chamber of government from dissolving for three or more days without permission from the other chamber. As a result, they say the laws passed during the special session are null and void.
They also say that the legislature improperly turned a revenue-related bill ? slots ? to a vote of the people when legislators hold the sole authority for passing laws paying for state business.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller called the lawsuit “bungled legal reasoning and frivolous.”
Upholding the constitution is neither of those words. Besides, Republicans chose to debate the issues in an open forum. Anyone can read the lawsuit.
Only Democratic leadership had access to shaping the laws. And no one had access to information about the so-called “structural” deficit because Gov. Martin O?Malley called the legislature to vote for tax hikes without first furnishing a budget.
A full and fair hearing of the case will at the very least broaden Marylanders? understanding of our state constitution. At best it will annul tax hikes state residents can ill afford, that will ultimately deter business from the state and inhibit entrepreneurs from moving here. As numerous high-profile participants at Thursday?s Life Science Summit in Columbia said, attracting entrepreneurs is key to the state?s future economic strength, so creating a competitive regulatory and tax environment is essential.
We applaud Republicans for standing up for the rule of law. Their example can only make the majority party think twice before attempting to twist it against the people the next time.
