ANNAPOLIS – Gov. Martin O’Malley was handed a major legislative defeat Thursday when his push to boost wind power off the state’s coast was shelved in favor of a study. The governor was unable to sell the plan to lawmakers, widely concerned that mandating utilities purchase wind power would create too steep a price for residents.
| Legislation on immigrant tuition moves closer to passage |
| A bill that would grant illegal immigrants in-state tuition at Maryland colleges advanced closer to passage in the House of Delegates. |
| Supporters warded off a dozen amendments offered by Republican critics, who said in more than two hours of debate that the bill overstepped federal law. |
| Under the proposal, illegal immigrants would receive in-state tuition if they first finish two years at a community college, prove their parents paid state taxes three years before enrollment and sign up for selective service. |
| The House is the final barrier to the legislation, as Gov. Martin O’Malley has said he would sign the bill. |
| In a compromise from the Senate version, House lawmakers agreed that illegal immigrants would be counted as out-of-state students to preserve slots for Marylanders. |
| But critics said such a move would cost the cash-strapped state millions of dollars in lost revenue from the steeper out-of-state rates. |
| The final vote is expected Friday. – Brian Hughes |
“This is very much a race between states [to increase wind power production]” said O’Malley spokesman Shaun Adamec. “We were absolutely hopeful something would have gotten done. But it’s not an entirely
unexpected development. This is a major, complex proposal.”
The wind effort was the cornerstone of O’Malley’s blueprint to make the state a leader in the green economy, as he also called for a surge in biotech and science startup companies and electric vehicles, among other initiatives.
O’Malley lobbied lawmakers particularly hard in the final days of this General Assembly session but was unable to corral enough support for an industry with largely unpredictable costs.
Senate Finance Chairman Thomas “Mac” Middleton pulled the bill from consideration in his committee Thursday, saying there were too many unanswered questions so close to Monday’s end of the session.
O’Malley’s proposal aligned with the legislative agenda of President Obama, who has called for a massive influx of green-energy development and has opened up federal coffers to fund the technology.
The Obama administration opened Maryland’s coast to offshore wind farms in November and immediately began seeking bidders for the project. Roughly 300 spinning turbines could power about 30 percent of Maryland’s energy needs, according to the governor.
O’Malley has called for the state to obtain one-fifth of the state’s energy from renewable sources by 2022.
However, his wind initiative failed to clear committees in either chamber of the General Assembly.
O’Malley proposed that major utilities, such as Pepco and Baltimore Gas and Electric, buy 400 to 600 megawatts of offshore wind energy in long-term contracts lasting at least 25 years. The governor’s office said 600 megawatts of wind energy is enough to power 95 percent of the homes on the Eastern Shore.
