NEWS CONFERENCE 891

(Special Legislative Session)

Q. Governor, there has been some talk that you have already made
up your mind about the calling of a special session and that it will
be called shortly after Labor Day.

A. That's false. That's false. As of the moment I don't see any
need for a special session based on the information I have now.

(Tax Revenues)

Q. Governor, the Comptroller's office, from what I hear, is making
a lot of studies on the sales tax including reducing the base to ten
cents and putting a tax on all meals and various other adjustments.
Is this a likelihood?

A. I don't know. I haven't had any report from the Legislative
Council on their investigations, but I think one thing we have to
bear in mind and very importantly in mind is that we have a lot of
new financing that has to be figured out somehow — such as the
Metropolitan Transportation System — and this will take a pretty
substantial source of revenue. So I don't want to see us exhaust the
potentials of every kind of revenue producer we can envisage simply
for the purpose of meeting this fiscal crisis, because we do have new
needs that have to be met as well as the restoration of certain old
needs such as the Medicaid area.

On Medicaid I want to point out that every state in the country
is having trouble with one or two exceptions. This is not unique to
Maryland. I think the Illinois, or was it Michigan, Health Depart-
ment had to cut back hundreds of millions of dollars in this area.
Other large states have had the same problem. The crisis is partly
brought on by the curtailments at the Federal level which push ad-
ditional responsibilities on the state. So this wasn't something that
Maryland simply devised because of its fiscal crisis. This came on
countrywide.

Q. Well do you think the sales tax may become an additional source
of general fund revenue?

A. Oh, I think ultimately it will be looked to as an additional source
of general fund revenue.

Q. Do you think we are too lenient now toward the taxpayer in
the way it's arranged?

A. Now that's a rather tricky question. I don't know how to answer
that. Are we too lenient toward the taxpayer? Certainly not. The