MARYLAND BRIEFING

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

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."

-- Lisa Rein

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

Man, Woman and Dog Rescued From Condo Fire

A man, a woman and a dog were rescued yesterday from a fire in a condominium building in Marlow Heights, a Prince George's County fire department spokesman said. The blaze was reported about 5:30 p.m. in a three-story building in the 3800 block of St. Barnabas Road, said spokesman Mark Brady.

The man and woman who lived across from the burning third-floor unit were rescued after taking refuge on a balcony. They were taken to a hospital for evaluation. A small dog was found elsewhere on the third floor and was reunited with its owner.

-- Martin Weil

ST. MARY'S COUNTY

8 Students, Driver Injured in School Bus Crash

A school bus driver in St. Mary's County drove a bus carrying 24 public high school students off a country road yesterday morning, hitting a road sign and several trees. No one was seriously injured in the crash, but eight students and the driver were taken to a hospital with minor injuries including scrapes and bruises, a school official said.

Bus driver Patricia Phipps, 32, was heading east on Medley's Neck Road in Leonardtown when she drifted off the road to the right, overcorrected and lost control of the bus, county police said. The bus crossed over the westbound lane, veering off the road, over a drainage ditch and into the dense woods that line the road, which has no shoulder.

Eight of the Leonardtown High School students on board were transported to St. Mary's Hospital. They were all released after examination or X-rays, said J. Bradley Clements, chief operating officer for the school system.

Phipps also was taken to the hospital and released. She has not been cited or charged, pending an investigation, police said. Phipps began driving school buses in St. Mary's in April 2005 and will not be allowed to drive students until the investigation has been completed, Clements said.

-- Jenna Johnson