Franchot Ratchets Up Criticism of Slots

Comptroller Peter Franchot yesterday stepped up his campaign to derail the legalization of slot-machine gambling in Maryland, a key component of Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to bridge a $1.7 billion budget shortfall.

Franchot (D), a former delegate from Montgomery County, used a pair of appearances in Silver Spring and Baltimore to urge his former colleagues in the General Assembly to reject O'Malley's proposal to generate up to $550 million a year for the state from slots.

"We can solve the deficit without slots," Franchot said. "Slots are a political solution to a fiscal issue."

Although Franchot's position is hardly new, his outspoken opposition comes as O'Malley, a fellow Democrat, is struggling to build support for slots before a special session that he has said he would like to convene by early next month.

Senate Republicans announced this week that they would provide no votes for slots in a special session -- making the odds of passage longer in the legislative chamber that has been more receptive to gambling initiatives.

"This is a difference on an issue, not whether I like him or I support him," Franchot, one of four Maryland officeholders elected statewide, said of O'Malley. "On both, I do."

O'Malley spokesman Steve Kearney said the governor had presented "a fair, long-term solution to the $1.7 billion budget deficit we've inherited."

"We would welcome any constructive ideas from the comptroller on how to close this hole, which grows to $2.2 billion without a special session," Kearney said. "Maybe some ideas about collecting unpaid taxes, which is, after all, his job."

Franchot, who has counseled against holding a special session, offered no suggestions yesterday on how he would make up revenue not realized by slots. Franchot said his office is willing to consult with the governor and lawmakers on other ideas, saying that "very smart people are at work on this."

O'Malley's plan has proposed overhauling the state's income tax brackets, cutting the property tax and raising several other levies, including the sales tax, tobacco tax and titling tax on vehicles. O'Malley has also proposed slowing the growth of planned education spending.

If O'Malley does not call a special session this fall, lawmakers will weigh his proposals during their annual 90-day session that starts in mid-January.

Neither downtown Silver Spring nor Baltimore's Inner Harbor is actively being considered as a slots venue, but Franchot said he chose the locations, both of which have been revitalized in recent decades, to make a point.

"The concept of limited slots is a myth," Franchot said, suggesting that even a modest slots program would soon expand to include full-blown casinos. "I guarantee you they will be in a community near you."

Franchot pointed to a 2004 study by Penn National Gaming that listed desirable slots sites in Silver Spring and Baltimore. The same company recently agreed to purchase Rosecroft Raceway in Prince George's County, apparently with the hopes that it one day could become a slots destination.

O'Malley has offered few details about the bill he wants lawmakers to pass. He said last week that his proposal will be "very similar" to the only slots plan to pass the House in recent years.

That 2005 bill, which died in the Senate, called for putting 9,500 machines at horse tracks and other locations in Allegany, Anne Arundel, Frederick and Harford counties.

Aides declined to release additional details yesterday.

Franchot, whose primary duty is to collect taxes, has drawn criticism in recent months for overstepping the bounds of his office. He said yesterday that he was speaking out as "the state's chief fiscal officer."

Although Franchot has been a vocal critic of slots in recent years, as a delegate in 2001, he co-sponsored a bill that sought to legalize 10,000 slot machines at four locations.

Franchot spokeswoman Christine Duray said the comptroller's position has evolved since then.

"The comptroller makes no apologies for studying the issue further and coming to the conclusion that slots is not the way to go," she said.