Gov. Martin O’Malley will support a tuition freeze at public universities if his proposed solution to the state’s budget deficit passes the General Assembly this month, an aide from the governor’s office said.

The governor has said he has enough votes to pass the plan, which includes several tax increases and a proposal to ask voters to decide whether the state should legalize slots next year. But his decision to use higher education funding as a carrot dangled before potentially fence-sitting legislators indicates O’Malley is banking on college tuition as the political issue that could sway lawmakers to his side.

Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller, a well-known supporter of slots, said one of the goals of O’Malley’s plan should be a tuition freeze, which would halt any increase for a third straight year, but a number of factors could inhibit that. The largest factor is slots.

Part of a corporate income tax increase O’Malley proposed would go directly into a higher education fund. But if legislators don’t go ahead with the proposed referendum on slots, or if voters reject the idea, the governor has said he will have to cut $60 million to higher education to make up for the shortfall said Joe Vivona, University System of Maryland vice chancellor.

The corporate tax increase would provide $56 million to higher education, so any cuts which would come to the system as a result of slots failing would eliminate the affect of the dedicated higher education funding.

O’Malley spokeswoman Christine Hansen, who said the governor would support a tuition freeze were his plan to pass, said the revenue proposals are a package, and if the legislature doesn’t pass the whole thing, the governor would have to make cuts to programs across the state, including its universities.

O’Malley said that if none of his proposal is passed, the system would lose as much as $110 million in his budget set to be proposed in January.

Members of the House of Delegates Appropriations Committee, who are dealing with potential cuts during the special session, are working to avoid any cuts to higher education, said Del. James Proctor (D-Calvert and Prince George’s), vice-chair of Appropriations.

“That’s what a lot of this is for,” Proctor said, “no increases in tuition.”

Vivona said tuition would rise as much as 11 percent if the governor’s proposals fail.

The General Assembly has made more progress on the tax increase side of the governor’s proposals. The Senate is to vote later this week on most of the plan, including a sales tax increase of 1 percent, a $1 cigarette tax increase and an increase in fees on to register new cars. Senators will make some changes to O’Malley’s original proposal on Tuesday, said Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel), though he would not specify what the amendments will be.

Legislators have stalled on whether to legalize slots for the past five years, though a Gonzales poll from October shows 64 percent of respondents support the idea.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. cohendbk@gmail.com