Maryland Speaker Girds For Gambling Showdown; Busch Challenges Governor in First Major Test
Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch had a single question for a delegate who recently compared his crusade against slot machine gambling to the ancient tale of Horatius, the man credited with preventing the Etruscan army from conquering and pillaging Rome.</br></br>Legend has it that Horatius single-handedly staved off attackers by defending a strategic bridge until it could be destroyed, then jumped into the Tiber River. But versions differ as to whether he reached safety and was duly rewarded by a grateful city or drowned before reaching the bank.</br></br>In the modern world of state politics, Busch (D-Anne Arundel) is the chief obstacle to a proposal that would dramatically expand legalized gambling in Maryland. The affable new speaker has pitted his House of Delegates against Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R), who has made legalizing slot machines a centerpiece of his first year in office, and against Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., a Democrat and pro-slots veteran with a proven ability to manipulate the levers of power.</br></br>In the coming days, Busch's political acumen will be put to the test. He will bring to the House floor a proposal to study the gambling issue for a year. He will settle on a package of tax increases and budget cuts to fill a gap estimated at more than $400 million. He will have to move those proposals through two key finance committees, where leaders would rather use slot machine revenue to backfill at least a portion of the shortfall. And then he will have to persuade a majority in the House to vote for the budget plan the following week.</br></br>A plan to close corporate tax loopholes could raise about $200 million but would still require deep cuts to balance the budget. Two other options, raising the sales tax by a penny or temporarily increasing the income tax for top earners, would raise more money. But Ehrlich has promised to veto both, meaning delegates might be forced to take a politically difficult vote for naught.