The Carroll Standard

Opposition Mounts Against Martin O'Malley's Special Session On Gaming...Taxpayers Again

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Annapolis – House Minority Leader Anthony O’Donnell and Minority Whip Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio sent a letter to Speaker of the House Michael E. Busch expressing the Caucus’ opposition to a Special Session to deal with gaming legislation.

“With annual 90-day sessions, it is our view that Special Sessions should only be called in times of true, rather than contrived, crisis”, reads the letter. “We do not see any crisis or emergency that would necessitate a Special Session, nor has any reason been given why this must be done now. Holding the debate until the regular session in 2013 may delay the question going to the voters until the 2014 election, but it will give legislators and voters alike the time to consider the issue thoughtfully.  No matter where one stands on the issue, the question of whether or not to expand gaming in Maryland deserves a full and thoughtful vetting through the regular legislative process.”

The letter was hand delivered to the Speaker’s office this morning.  Copies were also sent to Senate President Mike Miller and Governor O’Malley. The full text of the letter follows:

Hand-Delivered
The Honorable Michael E. Busch
Speaker of the House
State House
Annapolis, MD 21401

Dear Mr. Speaker:

We are writing to express our opposition to a Special Session to consider the expansion of gaming in Maryland.

The constitutional provisions for Special Sessions were established when the Maryland General Assembly held sessions once every two years. With annual 90-day sessions, it is our view that Special Sessions should only be called in times of true, rather than contrived, crisis. Since 2007, Governor O'Malley has called three Special Sessions, the most recent adjourning on May 16th. We do not see any crisis or emergency that would necessitate a Special Session, nor has any reason been given why this must be done now. Holding the debate until the regular session in 2013 may delay the question going to the voters until the 2014 election, but it will give legislators and voters alike the time to consider the issue thoughtfully.

No matter where one stands on the issue, the question of whether or not to expand gaming in Maryland deserves a full and thoughtful vetting through the regular legislative process. It certainly deserves more consideration than can be given over the course of two workgroup meetings and a "get-it-done-quick" Special Session, as is the current plan. For proof of this, one only need look at the haphazard manner by which the original slots program was established in Maryland during the 2007 Special Session. After years of partisan stonewalling thinly guised as moral objection, gaming was an afterthought pieced together and pushed through over the course of a 19-day Special Session where the primary focus was tax increases. As a result, Maryland has at best an anemic slots program that has barely gotten off the ground five years later. If Maryland's slots program had been crafted in a more deliberative and thoughtful fashion, rather than in a chaotic frenzy, we could be in a very different position today. We do not need a repeat of past mistakes, the citizens of Maryland deserve better.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of this matter. Please feel free to contact us should you like to discuss it further.

Sincerely,

Anthony J. O'Donnell, Minority Leader

Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, Minority Whip