Leading Democratic lawmakers in Maryland say they are ready to follow through on a plan first announced in December to place the state’s portion of gaming revenues in a “lockbox” to fund education.
A constitutional amendment is being proposed by the Baltimore delegations of both houses of the state General Assembly that would address complaints aired by many lawmakers since the Maryland gaming law was passed in 2008 largely on a promise that gaming taxes would be funneled to education. Since then, education funding has not increased beyond what is required by state law, and some of the revenue Maryland receives from one of the highest gaming taxes in the nation has gone to the general fund, or has been appropriated to fill other needs.
“Voters believed that money was safe, that it could not be raided,” Maggie McIntosh, chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, told the Baltimore Sun. “The public really feels they were gamed in this.”
McIntosh and Senator Joan Carter Conway are proposing an amendment that would require casino taxes to be put in what they are calling a “lockbox” to fund education spending beyond the state’s K-12 education funding formulas.
“It’s time to keep the faith with the people,” Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said at a press conference, accompanied by House Speaker Michael Busch and other Democratic lawmakers. “It’s about promises that were made to the people.”
According to a report in the Sun, casinos generated $451 million for the state’s Education Trust Fund in the fiscal year that ended last June 30.
“It’s time for a bold plan to improve learning and working conditions in our schools and make sure that no matter what neighborhood you live in, there’s a strong public school where every student gets an equal opportunity at success,” Betty Weller, president of the Maryland State Education Association, told the Sun.
The revised funding plan would be phased in over four years, and since it is a constitutional amendment, it would require approval by a three-fifths majority of both houses, followed by a majority vote in a ballot referendum next November.
Meanwhile, a separate bill was introduced by Baltimore Del. Mary Washington that would funnel casino taxes to education without a referendum. “If we wanted to, we could do it now,” said Washington, according to the Sun. “We don’t have to wait.”
