These are situations that are in fact occurring repeatedly throughout the country - and throughout Maryland. But this response is simply wrong. Quite the reverse, they were devised to limit such activity. In the case of Maryland, the state constitution contains clear and unambiguous language that explicitly prohibits the legislature from giving any aid to private individuals or corporations, which of course includes professional sports teams and powerful corporate franchisers. Such provisions also apply to counties, cities and other political subdivisions.
Some states also prohibit direct grants to private enterprise.
One might surmise, in light of such explicit wording, that both the Maryland General Assembly and the courts would consider most corporate subsidies to be unconstitutional. Yet, this is not so. Bowing to economic and political pressures, the legislature and the courts in Maryland, in a blatant display of chutzpa , have recently ignored the constitutional prohibition and thus cleared the way for generous corporate access to the public treasury. This is a very important point. The governing body does not have unfettered discretion to spend public monies.