Wednesday, March 2, 2005 | 9:24 a.m.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Less than a week after lawmakers passed legislation legalizing slot machines, their leaders are declaring that efforts to take the process to the next step have stalled.
When the House passed a bill by the most narrow margins Friday, the path seemed clear for slots to become law after two years of failed efforts. All that was needed was for the House and the Senate to reconcile their two versions in a joint committee and the governor's signature.
But the two versions differ in several respects and leaders of the House and Senate said Tuesday that they remain so far apart that passage of a slots bill looks unlikely.
Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller recommended the governor hold the legislature in Annapolis "for as long as it takes" until an agreement is reached.
archive
