Busch spreads budget blame

ANNAPOLIS — House Speaker Michael E. Busch helped defeat the Ehrlich administration’s slots proposal last year and candidly says he will do it again, but he still insisted yesterday that other Democrats are also to blame for this year’s stalemate.

“What efforts has [Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.] made to pass new revenue?” asked Mr. Busch, an Anne Arundel Democrat. “What has he done to raise revenue besides propose a $16 million snack tax that failed?”

To be sure, a House committee killed a proposal by Mr. Miller, a Calvert and Prince George’s Democrat, to put a 5 percent sales tax on such salty snacks as chips, pretzels and nuts. The tax would have generated as much as $16 million but some lawmakers argued that it would have devastated the state economy.

“I think Mike Miller is killing taxes in his committee,” said Mr. Busch, who instead wants to increase sales and income taxes to add $670 million to state revenue.

With the General Assembly ending on Monday and the governor’s budget and his slots legislation still undecided, some lawmaker are becoming tired and frustrated.

“I think there is no question [Mr. Busch] is delaying the vote on this bill,” Mr. Miller told The Washington Times on Wednesday.

Both houses are controlled by Democrats, but Mr. Miller is clearly the biggest slots supporter for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican.

He has led the Senate in passing the proposal for the past two sessions, and he has also become critical of Mr. Busch, who helped kill the slots proposal last year in the House Ways and Means Committee and has said he will do the same this year if the governor does not agree to his tax-increase proposal.

Mr. Ehrlich has said he will not increase the sales or income taxes in the state.

Still, Mr. Busch believes lawmakers are working toward a compromise on a mix of slots and taxes. He introduced an alternative slots plan Wednesday by fellow Democrats in the House committee to have state-owned slots facilities in the Republican strongholds in Dorchester County, Frederick, Harford County, Laurel, Rocky Gap and Timonium.

Last night he met with Mr. Ehrlich and Mr. Miller, but they reached no compromise. Aides said the three men would meet again today.

“The fact that we are talking is progress,” Mr. Busch said Wednesday.

Mr. Ehrlich said yesterday he had not had time to evaluate the alternative proposal. The Senate has already considered similar mix of locations but decided against it.

Sources at the State House said it is unlikely the slots proposal will get 12 of the 22 votes needed to leave the Ways and Means Committee and receive a full House vote.