ANNAPOLIS — Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot says Gov. Martin O’Malley is building a legacy of “slot machines, casinos and unaffordably high taxes.”
Franchot, a Democrat, weighed in on O’Malley’s legacy Monday as the General Assembly pushes up against its midnight deadline to pass a balanced budget.
House and Senate negotiations on the budget have stalled as lawmakers dispute over lowering tax exemptions $200 for residents earning less than $100,000 annually.
Franchot called the budget standoff “embarrassing” and “a low point for the state.”
“I believe the governor’s legacy from this session, and frankly, for this term, is going to be slot machines, casinos and unnaffordably high taxes,” Franchot told reporters.
Franchot blamed the budget standoff on O’Malley and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., D-Calvert and Prince George’s counties.
He accused Miller of holding up budget negotiations by prioritizing a bill that would call a referendum on a proposal to allow a sixth casino in Maryland.
“It’s time for [Miller] to just look at himself in the mirror and say, ‘Am I really contributing to this process?'” Franchot said. “Mike Miller should step aside.”
Miller has denied the accusation, saying the standoff is the result of philosophical differences between the House and Senate.
“The one thing in the constitution we’re supposed to do we haven’t produced on Sine Die,” Franchot said, referring to Maryland’s constitutional requirement to pass a balanced budget by midnight on Sine Die, the last day of session. “It’s a pretty sorry state right now.”
