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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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"Translate that to English one more time,'' Sen. E.J. Pipkin (R-Queen Anne's) said.
When the bill reached the Senate floor at 11:35 p.m., Jimeno stared down at 23 pages of amendments and did the math in his head. There's no way, he thought, this bill was going to pass the Senate, get to the House and become law before midnight.
So after voting in favor of the agreement on an initial 26 to 19 vote to pass the bill, Jimeno decided to vote against the suspension of the rules needed to keep the measure moving. That procedural move failed to capture the necessary 32 votes, 31 to 14.
With five minutes to spare, delegates passed their bill with overwhelming bipartisan support, 128 to 9. But it was already over.
It is up to Ehrlich to decide whether to continue to involve the legislature or to negotiate on his own. At a news conference yesterday, he signaled he would prefer to go it alone.
"The Senate did nothing, the bills died and that's changed the landscape here," the governor said. "The folks who held this process up, they're going to have to make their case to the people."
Staff writer Matthew Mosk contributed to this report.
