When the Governor, the Senate President, and the Speaker of the House support a bill, it will pass.
I learned that a long time ago.
Consequently, when Speaker Busch decided to support expanded gaming at a special session, I chose to work on amending the legislation, instead of opposing it, despite my concerns about the state’s growing reliance on slots and table games for revenue.
The Speaker’s support became apparent to me last month when he, the Governor, and the Mayor met with Baltimore City delegates at City Hall.
After the formal meeting ended, Delegate Nathaniel Oaks and I agreed that this was an opportune time to secure additional funding for redevelopment in the neighborhoods surrounding Pimlico Race Track.
Under existing law, slots money will benefit these communities for 15 years. We suggested to a member of Governor O’Malley’s staff that this be increased to 25 years.
Senate Bill 1, as introduced by the Governor and enacted by the General Assembly, makes it 20 years.
When I first saw “Fiscal Year 2032” in the bill, I said to myself, “I don’t think that even I will still be in the House of Delegates then.”
I also sought to guarantee that additional gaming money in the Education Trust Fund would result in additional spending on public education. The legislature’s focus instead was on protecting the Anne Arundel and Baltimore City licensees from the impact of the new Prince George’s facility on their bottom line. I drafted an amendment but did not offer it.
We did, however, authorize spending on early childhood education from the Fund. Senator Bill Ferguson had this added to the legislation in his chamber. I worked with him as we preserved that language during my committee’s review of the Senate bill.
Last Friday, I wrote Senator Ferguson, “We will need to lobby gov to include money for pre-k expansion in his budget next year.”
He replied, “I thought that was our plan all along. Isn’t everything we do fully planned out? :)”
We now have a tentative date for a meeting with the State Superintendent of Schools.
Another provision in the bill will benefit the 41st District.
The Maryland Jockey Club must submit a preliminary capital improvement plan for Pimlico Race Track to the Racing Commission by February 1, 2013. It will include planned capital improvements, a preliminary project schedule, and an estimate of funding to be requested from the State.
This will give the surrounding communities an opportunity to meet with Pimlico officials about their plans.
I voted for the slots bill in 2007 because I had concluded that the political will did not exist to raise revenue by making our income tax more progressive. That remains the case today.
I welcome your thoughts.
—-
Here’s how one piece of the sausage got made.
The only question about the increase in funding for the Pimlico neighborhoods came from a Republican member of the Ways and Means Committee at a hearing last Friday.
An unfriendly amendment from a member of the minority party won’t get many Democratic votes, I reassured myself.
However, at Tuesday morning’s Democratic caucus, Delegate Dave Rudolph complained that money generated at the Perryville casino in his district was benefiting Baltimore City instead.
Our floor session was scheduled for 2:00. Not surprisingly, the Speaker was not present, busy elsewhere pursuing crucial votes.
For the next 2 ¼ hours, I buttonholed my colleagues on the House floor and made the case for the benefits to the Pimlico neighborhoods from this revenue.
In the early evening, I was given Del. Rudolph’s amendment. It would create a $6 million annual cap on the allocation – a very significant reduction.
Then he offered a compromise: no cap but no revenue from the three smaller gaming sites. I responded, “No change until the Baltimore City casino is up and running. That revenue will compensate for the loss from the other sites.”
Then I sought the support of Delegate Oaks, my other colleagues from the 40th and 41st districts, the Speaker, my committee chair, and the City delegation.
The compromise was adopted by the House as a friendly amendment.
