The coalition of groups that successfully fought the introduction of slot machines in Maryland is preparing to battle again in the fall when a special session of the General Assembly may be called to deal with a deficit.
“I think we have a great fight in front of us this year,” said Aaron Meisner, a financial adviser who chairs StopSlotsMaryland. “We?re going to win this fight once again,” he told an organizational meeting at an Annapolis church, even though the group has no money in this “David vs. Goliath effort.”
Former Gov. Robert Ehrlich was a strong proponent of slots, but with his defeat, some Republicans who reluctantly supported slot machines can be turned around, said Minor Carter, a lobbyist who works with the group. Gov. Martin O?Malley has supported a limited number of slot machines at thoroughbred racing tracks to bolster the ailing racing industry, but the group now has a strong ally in Comptroller Peter Franchot.
Gambling has “held the state hostage” for four years, Franchot told the group. He called slots “a tax on the very poor to pay for rich people?s programs.” He said he and O?Malley “have agreed to disagree agreeably” on slots. Despite conventional wisdom, slots are not “a done deal,” Franchot said.
Senate President Thomas Mike Miller has been one of the most vociferous supporters of slot machine gambling as a way to bring needed revenue into state coffers. He has said it is a part of a package that would include budget cuts and tax increases. House Speaker Michael Busch has opposed slots but has said “everything is on the table” to cure a $1.5 billion structural deficit.
Del. Tony O?Donnell, Republican leader in the House of Delegates, said “there may be some truth” in Carter?s observation that some Republicans may not vote for slots again. On the other hand, “I will clearly say that all Republicans find the tax increases that the Democrats are planning much more offensive,” O?Donnell said.
Carter said that slot machines could not help cure the deficit immediately, since it will take a while to put them in place. But O?Donnell said a bill could be crafted that allows a bidding process for slot licenses that could generate money almost immediately.
