ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O’Malley will announce Monday that he’s calling lawmakers back to the capital to grapple with Maryland’s projected budget deficit.
Mr. O’Malley will make the formal call — a maneuver required before governors bring lawmakers to work out of regular session — on Monday afternoon. Spokesman Rick Abbruzzese would not say yesterday when exactly the special session would begin.
“The governor is looking at early November,” Mr. Abbruzzese said.
Mr. O’Malley wants lawmakers to return to work before January to tackle his plan to solve the $1.7 billion budget crunch through a series of higher taxes, from a penny increase to the state sales tax to higher income taxes for the wealthy. Mr. O’Malley’s plan also includes slot machine gambling and the closure of some tax loopholes.
In remarks across the state, Mr. O’Malley has argued that it would be wrong to wait until January to deal with the budget problem. That’s because the state would lose a few months to collect new revenues if the higher taxes aren’t enacted by the start of next year.
“I think it would be irresponsible not to try” to address the budget this year, Mr. O’Malley said earlier this week after laying out his plan at Salisbury University. He planned to make a similar pitch in Garrett County today.
It’s not clear how long the special session would last. Even supporters of Mr. O’Malley’s tax plans say the complicated negotiations to balance the state’s $30 billion-a-year checkbook could take weeks.
And not all of Mr. O’Malley’s fellow Democrats are sold on all parts of the plan.
“I will suggest to the governor that he leaves us lots and lots and lots of time. Because as far as I know, no deal’s been made,” said House Democratic Leader Kumar P. Barve.
Mr. Barve, Montgomery County Democrat, referred to the legislature’s top officials — House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. Mr. Busch, Anne Arundel Democrat, and Mr. Miller, Southern Maryland Democrat, have publicly disagreed on the need for a special session and how to meet the budget shortfall.
Mr. Miller strongly supports slot machine gambling. Mr. Busch supports it only in limited circumstances. Mr. Busch also has argued the budget problem would be more thoroughly addressed during the legislature’s regular term.
Neither of the top Democrats was immediately available yesterday afternoon to react to Mr. O’Malley’s announcement.
Republicans reacted to news of a special session by repeating their objections to higher taxes without a full budget under consideration.
“The Republican caucus certainly thinks it’s a bad idea without a road map in terms of how it’s going to be spent,” House Republican Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell, Southern Maryland Republican, said of the new taxes.
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