Legislative leaders ask for review of state budget

Republicans call the move blatantly political

Republicans were quick to call the maneuver a political ploy aimed at gathering support for new taxes instead of making deep cuts.

‘‘It’s typical scare tactics. This is a card that’s been played before in the early 1990s,” said House Minority Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell (R-Dist. 29C) of Lusby, referring to the state’s last major fiscal crisis. ‘‘They’ll threaten all manner of things ahead of time in their desire to raise taxes.”

But Senate Budget and Taxation Chairman Ulysses Currie (D-Dist. 25) of Forestville said it’s critical for lawmakers to have a ‘‘snapshot” of the financial picture.

Both Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch have indicated tax hikes are necessary to dig the state out of its fiscal hole. Miller (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach continues to push for a special session to address the budget.

‘‘If you’re going to vote for revenues, the sooner they kick in, the quicker we solve a problem,” he said.

It’s important to show Marylanders how they would be affected if no new revenues are raised, said Busch (D-Dist. 30) of Annapolis. The letter also requests an estimate of how many state government employees would be laid off.

The request to evaluate potential cutbacks is not unique, said Warren G. Deschenaux Jr., the General Assembly’s head budget analyst to whom the letter was addressed.

‘‘We do this every session in terms of identifying ways in which the state might economize,” he said. ‘‘This is certainly a somewhat larger scale endeavor, but it’s hardly without precedent. When the state starts to run out of money, people start asking how we deal with the problem.”

The analysis will be completed by the end of June, he said.

Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) said Thursday drastic cuts remain possible.

‘‘If we are unable to do that through some sort of mixture of efficiencies of budget reductions and modernization of revenue streams, then we’re going to be left to do it with cuts only,” he said.

The administration is in the process of reviewing departmental recommendations to shave $200 million in spending.

Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley (R-Dist. 4) of New Market is optimistic that the analysis will provide some useful information, but suspects it will primarily be used for political purposes

‘‘The likelihood is that certain pet programs will be put on the table and used as leverage for forcing votes on tax increases,” he said.