Special Session Would Be Risky For O'Malley

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), who has shown an abundance of caution during his first year in office, is now facing the biggest gamble of his governorship: whether to summon the legislature to Annapolis for a special session on his $1.7 billion deficit-reduction plan.

In public pronouncements, O'Malley and his aides have continued to say the governor will call a session by early next month to seek quick action on a complicated plan rolled out during two weeks of choreographed events last month.

But as O'Malley met privately with lawmakers last week, it became clear that he has yet to bring enough legislators on board to ensure a special session would be a success.

House leaders publicly questioned the need for such a session. Senate Republicans announced they were abandoning the governor on his proposal to legalize slot-machine gambling, a key component of O'Malley's package. And leading Democrats from Montgomery County told O'Malley privately that his proposed overhaul of the income tax would be too onerous for their upper-end constituents.

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