After days of vote wrangling that lasted until the final seconds of the roll call, the House of Delegates narrowly approved a plan yesterday to let voters decide next year whether slot machine gambling should be legalized in Maryland.
"Tonight was a major tipping point," Gov. Martin O'Malley said after the vote. "We still have a long way to go. We still have other steps to take, so stay tuned."
The House voted 86 to 52 -one more vote than needed - to put a slots referendum that would change the state Constitution on the November 2008 ballot. Five Republican delegates joined 81 Democrats in supporting the measure.
The House and the Senate must reconcile their differences over their respective referendum bills. Also, the House Ways and Means Committee plans to take up a companion bill this morning that lays out the details of how a slots program would be implemented.
House Speaker Michael E. Busch has said he does not know whether he has the simple majority of 71 votes to pass the companion bill, and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller has said passing one bill without the other would amount to "fraud."
Busch had been working with O'Malley for days to win over a "supermajority" of 85 votes, or three-fifths of the delegates, required to pass the constitutional amendment. It wasn't until the vote was under way that they secured the last couple of votes needed.
"For five years, we have not been able to build consensus" on the slots issue, Busch said. "The citizens of Maryland want resolution and overwhelmingly, by the polls you read, would like an opportunity to vote on the issue."
Del. Roger Manno, a freshman Democrat from Montgomery County, said he agreed to vote for the bill at the behest of Busch aides who fanned out through the chamber when the vote count came up short and Busch held up the final tally. Afterward, O'Malley approached Manno outside the chamber to shake his hand and said, "I know that was hard on you. Thank you."
"My heart was heavy from beginning to end," said Manno, who is "philosophically opposed" to slots but agreed to let voters decide. "I do think that democratically this is the way to go."
Miller has said he intends to await House action on the second bill before negotiating a compromise on the referendum bill. The Senate passed both slots bill last week.
The companion bill is controversial because it sets aside up to $100 million for the struggling horse racing industry, and several legislators contend that the locations are defined so that only a select group of gambling interests are expected to benefit.
"We are about to enshrine in our Constitution ... who gets to be a billionaire," said Del. Christopher B. Shank, a Western Maryland Republican and the minority whip.
The slots referendum is a major piece of a legislative package proposed by O'Malley during this special session to close a projected $1.7 billion budget shortfall through tax increases and spending cutbacks, while allotting more for transportation, health care and Chesapeake Bay cleanup.
While many GOP members supported slots legislation in the past, they objected to changing the state Constitution and to sending the issue to a referendum. The legislature has the power to legalize slots by a simple majority vote. Before the session began, O'Malley backed away from seeking an up-or-down vote and decided instead to seek a referendum. That change, along with several tweaks to the bill in recent days, won over many legislators who were opposed to expanding gambling in the state. It also appeared to break an impasse between Busch, who personally opposes slots, and Miller, a slots supporter.
Under O'Malley's plan, voters would decide whether to allow 15,000 slot machines at five locations - in Baltimore City and in Anne Arundel, Allegany, Cecil and Worcester counties.
The Senate would allow gambling to be expanded to other sites or to include table games only through a three-fifths vote of the legislature, while the House would allow that to happen only if a majority from both chambers vote on a referendum approved by voters.
Also, the House bill stipulates that slot parlors must comply with local planning and zoning laws, a provision that could give local officials more say over facilities in their jurisdictions.
Del. James N. Mathias Jr., an Eastern Shore Democrat and former Ocean City mayor, failed to remove the Worcester location that includes Ocean Downs racetrack from the bill through an amendment. He said the added zoning language in the bill didn't give him enough of an assurance that the county could prevent a slots parlor from being located there.
The House also rejected amendments to restrict campaign contributions from gambling companies; to choose slots operators through a government-run auction instead of by listing the areas in the constitutional amendment; and to lower the number of slot machines to 9,500.
The debate became heated on occasion. Del. Luiz R.S. Simmons, a Montgomery County Democrat and slots foe, said the legislature has been put through "a kind of political waterboarding." He chastised colleagues who campaigned against slots but would vote for the referendum, calling it a "Trojan horse" for slots.
Simmons also predicted that gambling interests would spend tens of millions of dollars to win the referendum, and if that failed, the industry would come back again to the legislature. "There is too much money in Maryland; it's a wealthy state," he said. "They want to pry it open like an oyster and shuck it."
Del. Joseph F. Vallario Jr., a Prince George's County Democrat, argued that voters should be heard on slots and that such a contentious issue on the ballot could improve voter turnout.
Special interest groups and activists on both sides of the issue say they are ready for a fight at the ballot box.
"We have a very strong grass-roots network, and we are going to run a very vigorous and aggressive campaign, and we intend to prevail," said Aaron W. Meisner, spokesman for Stop Slots Maryland, a citizens group.
Richard J. Hoffberger, president of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, was cautiously optimistic that the legislature could agree on a slots referendum. "We're glad that step has passed, and we can get on to the next part of the process," he said.
laura.smitherman@baltsun.com james.drew@baltsun.com
Roll call
A bill to allow voters to decide a constitutional amendment allowing slot machines passed the House 86-52, one vote more than the minimum 85, or supermajority, needed. Here is the roll call vote:
FOR
Benjamin S. Barnes, D, Anne Arundel & Prince George's Counties
Kumar P. Barve, D, Montgomery County
Pamela Beidle, D, Anne Arundel County
John L. Bohanan Jr., D, St. Mary's County
Talmadge Branch, D, Baltimore City
Eric M. Bromwell, D, Baltimore County
William A. Bronrott, D, Montgomery County
Michael E. Busch, D, Anne Arundel County
Jon S. Cardin, D, Baltimore County
Galen R. Clagett, D, Frederick County
Virginia P. Clagett, D, Anne Arundel County
Frank M. Conaway, Jr., D, Baltimore City
Norman H. Conway, D, Wicomico & Worcester Counties
Dereck E. Davis, D, Prince George's County
Steven J. DeBoy Sr., D, Baltimore County, Howard County
John P. Donoghue, D, Washington County
Ann Marie Doory, D, Baltimore City
Kathleen M. Dumais, D, Montgomery County
D. Page Elmore, R, Somerset & Wicomico Counties
Brian J. Feldman, D, Montgomery County
C. William Frick, D, Montgomery County
Barbara A. Frush, D, Anne Arundel & Prince George's Counties
Tawanna P. Gaines, D, Prince George's County
James W. Gilchrist, D, Montgomery County
Cheryl Glenn, D, Baltimore City
Melony G. Griffith, D, Prince George's County
Ana Sol Gutierrez, D, Montgomery County
Guy Guzzone, D, Howard County
Peter A. Hammen, D, Baltimore City
Hattie N. Harrison, D, Baltimore City
Keith E. Haynes, D, Baltimore City
Anne Healey, D, Prince George's County
Sue Hecht, D, Frederick County
Henry B. Heller, D, Montgomery County
Sheila E. Hixson, D, Montgomery County
James W. Hubbard, D, Prince George's County
Tom Hucker, D, Montgomery County
Richard K. Impallaria, R, Baltimore & Harford Counties
Jolene Ivey, D, Prince George's County
Mary-Dulany James, D, Cecil & Harford Counties
Sally Y. Jameson, D, Charles County
Adrienne A. Jones, D, Baltimore County
A. Wade Kach, R, Baltimore County
Anne R. Kaiser, D, Montgomery County
James King, R, Anne Arundel County
Ruth M. Kirk, D, Baltimore City
Carolyn J. Krysiak, D, Baltimore City
Sue Kullen, D, Calvert County
Stephen W. Lafferty, D, Baltimore County
Jane E. Lawton, D, Montgomery County
Susan C. Lee, D, Montgomery County
Murray D. Levy, D, Charles County
Mary Ann Love, D, Anne Arundel County
James E. Malone, Jr., D, Baltimore County, Howard County
Roger Manno, D, Montgomery County
Brian K. McHale, D, Baltimore City
Maggie McIntosh, D, Baltimore City
Joseph J. Minnick, D, Baltimore County
Dan K. Morhaim, D, Baltimore County
Shirley Nathan-Pulliam, D, Baltimore County
Doyle L. Niemann, D, Prince George's County
Nathaniel T. Oaks, D, Baltimore City
John A. Olszewski Jr., D, Baltimore County
Shane E. Pendergrass, D, Howard County
James E. Proctor Jr., D, Calvert & Prince George's Counties
Victor R. Ramirez, D, Prince George's County
Kirill Reznik, D, Montgomery County
Craig L. Rice, D, Montgomery County
B. Daniel Riley, D, Cecil & Harford Counties
Barbara Robinson, D, Baltimore City
Samuel I. Rosenberg, D, Baltimore City
Justin D. Ross, D, Prince George's County
David D. Rudolph, D, Cecil County
Todd Schuler, D, Baltimore County
Theodore J. Sophocleus, D, Anne Arundel County
Dana M. Stein, D, Baltimore County
Melvin L. Stukes, D, Baltimore City
Shawn Z. Tarrant, D, Baltimore City
Frank S. Turner, D, Howard County
Veronica L. Turner, D, Prince George's County
Kris Valderrama, D, Prince George's County
Joseph F. Vallario, Jr., D, Calvert & Prince George's Counties
Michael L. Vaughn, D, Prince George's County
Jay Walker, D, Prince George's County
Michael H. Weir, Jr., D, Baltimore County
Richard B. Weldon, Jr., R, Frederick & Washington Counties
AGAINST
Saqib Ali, D, Montgomery County
Curtis S. Anderson, D, Baltimore City
Susan L. M. Aumann, R, Baltimore County
Charles E. Barkley, D, Montgomery County
Joseph R. Bartlett, R, Frederick County
Gail H. Bates, R, Howard County
Wendell R. Beitzel, R, Garrett & Allegany Counties
Joanne C. Benson, D, Prince George's County
Elizabeth Bobo, D, Howard County
Joseph C. Boteler III, R, Baltimore County
Aisha N. Braveboy, D, Prince George's County
Emmett C. Burns, Jr., D, Baltimore County
Rudolph C. Cane, D, Dorchester & Wicomico Counties
Jill P. Carter, D, Baltimore City
Robert A. Costa, R, Anne Arundel County
Don Dwyer, R, Anne Arundel County
Adelaide C. Eckardt, R, Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot & Wicomico Counties
Donald B. Elliott, R, Carroll & Frederick Counties
William J. Frank, R, Baltimore County
Ron George, R, Anne Arundel County
Barry Glassman, R, Harford County
Jeannie Haddaway, R, Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot & Wicomico Counties
Marvin E. Holmes, Jr., D, Prince George's County
J. B. Jennings, R, Baltimore & Harford Counties
Kevin Kelly, D, Allegany County
Nicholas R. Kipke, R, Anne Arundel County
Benjamin F. Kramer, D, Montgomery County
Susan W. Krebs, R, Carroll County
Gerron S. Levi, D, Prince George's County
James N. Mathias Jr., D, Wicomico & Worcester Counties
Susan K. McComas, R, Harford County
Tony McConkey, R, Anne Arundel County
Patrick L. McDonough, R, Baltimore & Harford Counties
Robert A. McKee, R, Washington County
Warren E. Miller, R, Howard County
Heather R. Mizeur, D, Montgomery County
Peter Murphy, D, Charles County
LeRoy E. Myers Jr., R, Allegany & Washington Counties
Anthony J. O'Donnell, R, Calvert & St. Mary's Counties
Joseline Pena-Melnyk, D, Anne Arundel & Prince George's Counties
Steve Schuh, R, Anne Arundel County
Christopher B. Shank, R, Washington County
Tanya Thornton Shewell, R, Carroll County
Luiz R. S. Simmons, D, Montgomery County
Michael D. Smigiel, Sr., R, Caroline, Cecil, Kent & Queen Anne's Counties
Richard A. Sossi, R, Caroline, Cecil, Kent & Queen Anne's Counties
Donna Stifler, R, Harford County
Nancy R. Stocksdale, R, Carroll County
Herman L. Taylor, Jr., D, Montgomery County
Jeff Waldstreicher, D, Montgomery County
Mary Roe Walkup, R, Caroline, Cecil, Kent & Queen Anne's Counties
John F. Wood, Jr., D, Charles & St. Mary's Counties
EXCUSED
Carolyn J. B. Howard, D, Prince George's County
Karen S. Montgomery, D, Montgomery County
Paul S. Stull, R, Frederick County