SPECIAL SESSION UPDATE

Earlier this week Governor Martin O'Malley unveiled his "Cost of Delay" budget, which provides an unsettling glimpse at the more than $1.7 billion in cuts that will have to be made to balance the budget if the General Assembly is unable to reach a consensus during the upcoming special session.

For Maryland's tourism, film and arts communities, the $27 million in proposed cuts would be catastrophic. Specific cuts include:

• Abolishing the Maryland State Arts Council and its $16 million budget, eliminating assistance to hundreds of local arts organizations and individual artists statewide.
  
  
• Abolishing the Maryland Tourism Development Board and its $7 million budget, a severe cut to the state's tourism marketing efforts.
  
  
• Eliminating the highly successful Film Production Rebate Fund and its $4 million allocation. This fund is Maryland's only financial incentive to attract lucrative film and television projects.
  
  
• Eliminating funding for the Maryland Heritage Preservation and Tourism Areas Program and cutting funding for other tourism-related projects statewide, including the Baltimore City and Ocean City convention centers, the Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture and the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.