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Md. Rate Relief Bill Became a 'Tough Sell'
Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, left, and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. look on as Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., far right, signs bills.
(By Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)
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"He said, 'We'll just leave this up to you,' " Jimeno said. "He said, 'You're on your own.' "
Miller again expressed ambivalence, particularly about the PSC, when he and Busch emerged from a 1:30 p.m. meeting in Ehrlich's office. "We need honest ombudsmen who aren't talking to utilities behind closed doors," Miller said of the utilities commission.
By 5 p.m., two key participants -- Ehrlich chief of staff Chip DiPaula Jr. and Busch -- sat waiting for Miller in the balcony overlooking the Senate floor while the Senate president worked to override the governor's vetoes.
Finally, they met without him. Two hours later, there was a handshake agreement among the House leadership, the administration and Constellation. But downstairs, talking to reporters on the Senate floor, Miller described the situation as "volatile" and said "things look dismal."
When Busch got word that the bill was in trouble in a key Senate committee, he realized that the House would have to jump-start the process if his delegates were to get a vote on the issue that hits constituents so close to home.
With three hours remaining, he gathered his Democrats to convince them that an imperfect solution that offered ratepayers $600 million worth of relief over 10 years was better than no solution. He ordered last-minute amendments and 141 copies of the thick bill.
Meanwhile, Constellation Chairman Mayo A. Shattuck III and Constellation lobbyists were camped out in the governor's conference room waiting for word from downstairs. The governor was there. So were Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele and some of Ehrlich's aides.
Between bites of baked chicken and pasta with asparagus, one participant said they would look at each other and ask in nervous anticipation, "What do you think? What do you think?"
As midnight neared, Shattuck kept tabs on the House and Senate from the upstairs galleries. Constellation wanted this bill to pass, spokesman Robert L. Gould said.
In the hallways and out on the floor for a time, it looked like action had stalled. The governor held a reception at Government House to celebrate the University of Maryland's women's basketball team, this year's NCAA champions. Legislators recognized special guests.
Behind the scenes, with the House bill moving, Miller convened the Senate Finance Committee to take up its version of the bill that would have required all five utility commissioners to be reappointed next session.
In the Senate lounge, members expressed deep concerns that the bill would be a short-term fix and would repeat the mistakes of 1999 -- the year the legislature deregulated the energy market and created the system that has led to rate increases. Lawmakers spent more than an hour quizzing a legislative analyst on the fine print.
