Oct 11, 2007 6:49 pm US/Eastern
O'Malley Will Discuss Special Session Next Week
by Pat Warren
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Governor O'Malley says he will discuss a potential special session next week. (File)
CBS
Governor O'Malley moves ahead with plans for a special session next month despite some opposition from both within and outside his own party.
Pat Warren reports there are some things the governor may want to ask the General Assembly to do about slots.
Governor O'Malley on WAMU in Washington tries to temper the need for slots money with the nobility of paying taxes.
"In the past we had leaders who told us with unfettered gambling in our state we can all absolve ourselves of the responsibility of paying taxes to make this a better place for the next generation. I don't buy that. I think to sell that to the public is to promote a sort of moral bankruptcy," said O'Malley.
But the state's constitutional obligation isn't to morals, it's to the budget. The governor is on the verge of calling the General Assembly to Annapolis to raise the money to balance it.
"We have a few more days to talk and the weekend and early next week, but we need to move here," said O'Malley.
And it appears those bills may include a revision of the governor's original plan to have the legislature legalize slots, and put it to the people instead.
"There seems to be a much greater receptivity by the senators and the delegates to letting the people decide on an issue like this rather than either deadlocking or saddling the people with this long debated issue," said O'Malley.
When Governor Ehrlich called special sessions to deal with medical malpractice and BGE, the General Assembly produced bills he couldn't sign.
Governor O'Malley is hoping for a better outcome.
Opponents to the special session say lawmakers should not raise taxes until they have an actual budget, which is due in January.
Republicans say the state's problem isn't revenue, it's spending.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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