MARYLAND BRIEFING
MARYLAND BRIEFING
Comptroller Peter Franchot (D), shown at a 2007 rally against slots, says revenue estimates for the next two fiscal years are "sobering."
(By Gail Burton -- Associated Press)
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STATE GOVERNMENT
Panel Recommends Increasing Debt Capacity
A state panel yesterday recommended that Maryland's debt capacity edge up to allow more borrowing for roads, schools and other construction projects as tax collections are projected to drop this year.
The committee voted 4 to 1 to recommend to the General Assembly that the amount of debt the state can raise increase to 4 percent of personal incomes from 3.2 percent. Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) voted no, saying he did not want to "add debt to the state's credit card" at a time when revenue is down. The legislature's chief fiscal adviser has said the state could face a budget shortfall of up to $1 billion in its next fiscal year. The panel also voted to recommend an increase in borrowing through the use of "general obligation" bonds for one year to take advantage of lower construction costs in the slow economy. Franchot and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp (D) dissented.
-- Lisa Rein
SLOT MACHINE GAMBLING
Debate Heats Up Ahead of Revenue Estimates
Advocates on both sides of the debate over slot machine gambling in Maryland stepped up their rhetoric yesterday on the eve of revenue estimates that are expected to paint a bleak picture of state finances.
First, Comptroller Peter Franchot, an ardent slots opponent, told the Committee for Montgomery yesterday that revenue projections his office will release today for the upcoming two fiscal years "will offer a sobering window into the condition of the Maryland economy." He criticized the administration of fellow Democrat Gov. Martin O'Malley for pushing a "record tax hike" last year and said slots will only worsen the state's budget problems with increased crime, "traffic, corruption, addictions and bankruptcies."
He said it is time for Marylanders to "get serious about spending reform" instead of passing November's referendum to authorize up to 15,000 slot machines.
But Franchot did not offer any detailed suggestions on where to cut spending, an omission not lost on slots advocates, who held a news conference a few hours later to denounce the comptroller and other gambling opponents for avoiding the politically thorny work of cutting. "They don't want to talk about those difficult choices that will have to be made if this doesn't pass," said Fred Puddester, chairman of For Maryland for Our Future, a pro-slots group. "Franchot has spent a lot of time looking at budgets and analyzing them. I don't think it should be difficult for him to come up with a list of spending cuts."
