| Page 2 of 2 < |
Assembly Returning To Where It Began
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
On the Senate floor yesterday, Democrats continued to muscle through a bill to dismantle the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. The measure would replace four of the governor's five appointees with legislative picks.
Spawned by an increase in electric rates, the bill would reassure consumers that the panel is looking out for them, supporters said. But Senate Minority Leader J. Lowell Stoltzfus (Somerset) dismissed it as "opportunistic piling on."
The bill is expected to win final Senate passage today and then be shipped to the House.
At one point during yesterday's floor debate, Senate Minority Whip Andrew P. Harris (Baltimore County) questioned why Democrats seemed in such a rush. "Maybe it has to do with vetoes, I'm not sure," Harris said sarcastically.
The bill will be the second passed in as many weeks that seeks to curb the governor's appointment authority. Over Republican protests, the Senate passed one last week that would require Cabinet secretaries to be confirmed again at the start of a second term.
In the House, lawmakers are poised today to win final passage of another Democratic priority: a bill allowing state funding of embryonic and adult stem cell research.
Advocates say the research holds great promise for the treatment of diseases. But work with embryonic cells is controversial because it involves the destruction of a human embryo. Supporters turned back several GOP attempts yesterday to amend the bill. Any changes would have required the measure to return to the Senate before heading to Ehrlich's desk, imperiling its prospects.
One amendment that failed yesterday sought to refer to human embryos in the bill as "embryos." The Senate changed several such references to "unused material" to secure a vote needed to cut off the filibuster. The amendment was defeated, 89 to 44.
It remains unclear what Ehrlich will do with the stem cell bill if it reaches his desk. He proposed spending $20 million on stem cell research next year, including the possibility of embryonic work. But he has also said he does not believe legislation is needed.
As lawmakers pushed several bills forward yesterday, they effectively killed two other controversial measures: a bid to insert a ban on gay marriage in the state constitution and a bill to allow pharmacists to dispense emergency contraception.
