BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Opposing slots or advocating for or against any public policy is not part of the job description of the comptroller of Maryland. He is a “superintendent,” not a legislator, whose main responsibility is to manage the state’s revenue efficiently and prudently. In case he needs a reminder that Article VI, Sec. 2 of the Maryland Constitution enumerates his duties — which especially during this tax season should keep him fully occupied.

Since winning office, however, he has not let his constitutional duties impede his advocacy or his staff from aiding him in his pursuit to prevent slots in Maryland. The most recent incident came earlier this week in response to a barb from Gov. Martin O’Malley about his views on them.

Franchot responded through his spokesman Joseph Shapiro, who said, “The people of Maryland are tired of gratuitous, personal attacks, and it is the comptroller’s hope that moving forward this debate will be focused on our state’s future.”

We do to. So far it’s been all about him.

We have long advocated slots as a means to capture revenue for the state now flowing to casinos and slots parlors outside of Maryland. But we think Franchot could provide a valuable service to Marylanders by crunching the state’s numbers on the slots referendum to be voted on in November. As we’ve noted before, the anticipated revenue of up to $800 million a year is far higher than both common sense, market conditions and gambling experts predict is possible. Voters should not be asked to vote for a measure based on false information.

Sky-high taxes of 67 percent contained in the bill  — anything more than 50 percent is considered a huge tax by industry experts  — deter investment. And because Maryland does not allow casino gambling, fewer reasons exist to build a megaplex destination resort the governor is counting on to support his budget. Second, current market conditions are both depressing gambling revenues across the nation and making it much more difficult to borrow money, which could prevent or impede industry players from financing new slots centers, much less resorts.

If legislators really cared about making money for the state treasury, they never would have abdicated their responsibility to address the issue in session. And they would have redesigned the licensing system to maximize both participation and revenue by giving the five licenses up for grabs to groups promising to return the highest portion of the proceeds to the state. If this measure fails in November, it will be in no small part because of false advertising and poor legislative craftsmanship.  Franchot would better serve the people of Maryland by pointing out these issues instead of grandstanding in the media about personal views unrelated to his job description.