As the Maryland legislature heads into its final hours today, some of Gov. Martin O?Malley?s key initiatives on energy, the environment and crime remain to be resolved by midnight.
At the top of the list is enabling legislation to complete the settlement with Constellation Energy, putting to rest nine years of legal wrangling over electricity deregulation.
The Senate tacked on a killer amendment Thursday to regulate any new power plant built in the state and make the owner sell its electricity to Maryland customers first. O?Malley called the amendment a mistake , and the Attorney General?s Office said it would nullify the agreement that would save BGE customers as much as $2 billion, including a $170 rebate to each ratepayer this year.
The House passed the Constellation legislation without change, and SenatePresident Thomas V. Mike Miller is hoping “cooler heads reflect on the value of having an agreement.”
“I?m confident that however the governor wants to do it, whether it?s in conference committee or reconsidering the vote, that it?s going to be accomplished on Monday and that it will be passed without the crippling amendment,” Miller said.
The House and Senate also must work out differences in legislation mandating targets for reducing greenhouse gases in Maryland. The Senate tacked on a floor amendment requiring any regulations implementing the law to be approved by the legislature, a move opposed by environmentalists.
House and Senate conference committees also must come to agreement on final changes to O?Malley?s proposal to expand collection of DNA from those charged with a long list of violent crimes. The two chambers have to resolve differences on an administration bill to permit use of speed-monitoring cameras throughout the state at highway work sites and wherever local jurisdictions decide to put them.
“I think we?ve got a lot of the heavy lifting out of the way,” said House Speaker Michael Busch, citing resolution on the budget, mortgage lending reforms and a repeal of the computer services tax.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
