Maryland leaders to talk gambling -- again
As Gov. Martin O'Malley on Monday begins a series of meetings with Maryland's top leaders over whether to expand gambling in the state, the state Senate president is warning that if lawmakers don't pass such legislation this summer, the General Assembly's regular session in 2014 will be "the session from hell."
The issue created a major rift between the House and Senate during budget negotiations earlier this year. If it's not resolved, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., D-Calvert and Prince George's, warned that gambling will resurface again in 2014, the next year a referendum on gambling could be placed on statewide ballots.
"It's going to be the same thing all over again," Miller said at a meeting with business leaders in Prince George's County last week. "It's not going to be pretty."
Those for and against an expansion of gambling -- which could include table games a Prince George's County casino at National Harbor -- agree the fate of any gaming legislation rests in the House. Those close to the negotiations say it's up to O'Malley to round up the 71 votes necessary for the bill to pass the House.
O'Malley has vowed not to call a special session unless enough votes are secure.
House Speaker Michael Busch is a Democrat representing Anne Arundel County -- home of Maryland Live! Casino at Anne Mills mall. Most county officials there are opposed to a casino in neighboring Prince George's, expecting it would hurt Maryland Live's bottom line.
Given Busch's position, it's up to the governor to deliver the necessary votes to end the gambling debate, said Del. Jolene Ivey, D-Prince George's.
"The only way I see it would pass is if the governor personally did the work and made it a priority to call every persuadable delegate," Ivey said.
"[The governor] has expressed an intent to call a special session, but as even the most casual observer of the General Assembly know, this type of issue needs the support of the presiding officers, which we have been unable to secure from the speaker," O'Malley spokeswoman Raquel Guillory said in an email to The Washington Examiner.
O'Malley has meetings on gambling planned with top officials in Prince George's County, Montgomery County and Baltimore on Monday, followed by meetings with Miller and Busch on Tuesday.
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