Assembly Overrides Ehrlich on Malpractice

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. watches the vote tally. (Lucian Perkins - The Washington Post)

House leaders opted against a vote on Ehrlich's veto of a bill capping tuition increases, crediting the governor's decision to increase funding for the state university system.

But the malpractice bill generated most of the day's drama. To override the governor's veto, Democrats needed a three-fifths majority.

On the second floor of the State House, members of the governor's senior staff shuttled between Ehrlich's office and the gallery that overlooked the delegates, as the staff members tried to assess their chances for victory.

As the floor debate raged, Ehrlich was calling potential swing voters, said George W. Owings III, a Cabinet member and a Democrat who served for 10 years as the House majority whip. Some delegates took the governor's calls, he said, while others refused.

Members of Ehrlich's team became more confident that they had a shot at blocking the override after the speaker delayed the session's start for almost an hour, a pause they believed was prompted by last-minute Democratic defections.

When the votes appeared on the electronic board in the House chamber, Ehrlich's deputy chief of staff, Edward B. Miller, whipped out his cell phone. "I'll call him right now," he said, referring to Del. Nathaniel T. Oaks (D-Baltimore), a fence-sitter who appeared to be breaking against Ehrlich.

But it was too late. The speaker had mustered the necessary 85 votes. Nine Democrats joined 41 Republicans in opposing the bill, but Oaks was not among them. As Busch read the result into the record, Ehrlich's chief of staff, Steven L. Kreseski, headed back to the governor's office and scowled. "I'm gonna kill him! I'm gonna kill him!" he yelled, without revealing who he was referring to.

After the vote, Oaks said he was torn. "It hurt me," he said. "Everybody and their brother in the administration was calling me. They knew I wasn't wedded to this bill. But it was too little too late."

In the end, he said, "I didn't want to wind up without any place in my district for a lady to go have a baby."

Later, the Senate passed the bill 31 to 15, just clearing the threshold of 29 votes needed to override. Only two conservative Democrats, both from competitive districts, Sen. Roy P. Dyson (St. Mary's) and Sen. John C. Astle (Anne Arundel), voted against the override.

Even before the Senate vote, Ehrlich held a news conference outside his office. He read from a short, handwritten text, telling reporters: "We're not surprised. Obviously we can count. But it's disappointing nevertheless."

The bill takes effect immediately, but it could be months before doctors feel the benefits of the new state fund, lawmakers said. Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery) said the relief would be passed along to doctors through adjustments in premiums or rebates.

T. Michael Preston, executive director of the Maryland State Medical Society, said doctors have mixed feelings about what has transpired. He said that the relief fund is "a major commitment" from the state but that legal changes in the bill are relatively modest.

"This is the end of the first round. We have to keep moving forward," said Preston, whose organization initially supported Ehrlich's efforts but backed the Democratic bid to override his veto.

Ehrlich has vowed to introduce more sweeping legislation on medical malpractice in the regular session that starts today.

But he expressed fear that, after all the energy consumed on the legislation over the past two weeks, lawmakers were ready to put the issue behind them.

"This is only one chapter in this debate," Ehrlich said, adding that he suspected that it's going to be very difficult to write the next one.

Staff writer David Snyder contributed to this report.