O'Malley Plan Would Not Limit Slots to Racetracks

Bill Would Be Much Like One That Assembly Defeated in 2005

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said yesterday that he will propose slot machine gambling legislation "very similar" to a failed 2005 plan that sought to legalize 9,500 machines at racetracks and other locations in Allegany, Anne Arundel, Frederick and Harford counties.

The move, telegraphed in recent weeks, marks a striking departure from O'Malley's position as a candidate last year, when he advocated placing a limited number of machines only at tracks to prop up Maryland's storied horse racing industry.

Aides said the announcement reflected a compromise on an issue that has paralyzed Annapolis in recent years as O'Malley (D) and lawmakers seek consensus on steps to close a $1.7 billion shortfall in next year's budget.

"It's time to put this issue behind us," O'Malley said, speaking at a horse-breeding farm in Baltimore County, at an event designed to highlight the stakes in maintaining the racing industry. "They have been hurt badly by our inability to arrive at a compromise."

Even so, slots is still expected to be among the thorniest of O'Malley's proposals, given continued opposition from key Democrats in the House of Delegates and the possible erosion of Republican support.

"My position on gambling has not changed," House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) said in a statement released yesterday. "I don't think we can expect Marylanders to step up to the plate and pay $2 billion in taxes while unjustly enriching racetrack owners."

Under O'Malley's plan, when fully phased in, the state-owned machines would generate $425 million a year for education and other state programs, O'Malley said. An additional $125 million a year in slots proceeds would go toward construction of education facilities, and $100 million a year would be used to supplement horse racing purses -- a practice in place in neighboring states.

The 2005 measure that O'Malley cited as a model is the only slots bill to have passed the House during the four-year tenure of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) -- and it passed with the bare minimum of votes needed. Both Ehrlich and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) routinely backed more expansive plans.

O'Malley said the bill he plans to propose in coming weeks will be "very close, with some minor adjustments, to what the House of Delegates has already passed."

Under the 2005 House bill, which died in the Senate, only one existing racetrack in Maryland -- Laurel Park in Anne Arundel -- would have been eligible for a slots license. Other venues were to be off interstates in Frederick and Harford counties and at the financially ailing, state-subsidized Rocky Gap Lodge in Allegany.

O'Malley aides said that the selection of locations is not final and that it is possible the number of machines could exceed 9,500. Miller is pushing for at least 12,000 machines as well as an Eastern Shore location. Prior bills passed by the Senate would have allowed as many as 15,500 machines at seven venues.

The 2005 House bill did not include venues in Prince George's County or Baltimore, two jurisdictions with racetracks but significant community opposition to slot machine gambling. There was no indication yesterday that O'Malley would add venues in either place.