Gov. Robert Ehrlich on Friday vetoed all the legislation that deals with BGE rate hikes, the merger of its parent, Constellation Energy and the appointment of utility regulators, as well as bills to block state takeover of 11 Baltimore City schools and to force reconfirmation of his cabinet secretaries if he wins re-election.
The bills were among several the governor rejected in time to have them voted on again by legislators before they leave town.
The members of the General Assembly are set to end their 90-day session as they had started it —with attempts to override the governor’s vetoes of bills on measures he strongly opposed because of their impact on state businesses.
On the city schools measure, Senate President Thomas Mike Miller, D, confidently predicted, “the governor’s veto will be overridden on Monday.”
Ehrlich was adamant. “There is literally no case on the other side,” he said. The only reason some senators told him they supported the city schools bill was “because Mike Miller told me so,” Ehrlich said.
Both Ehrlich and Miller made clear that the vetoes and possible overrides were part of the prolonged negotiations with Constellation Energy officialsto knock down a proposed 72 percent electricity rate increase this summer.
Miller said “the utility is more fearful” of the bill to fire the members of the current Public Service Commission, and have four of their five replacements appointed by the Senate president and the House speaker, rather than the governor.
“That is the bill [they] want to go away,” Miller said, because the company likes Ehrlich’s business friendly appointees.
Ehrlich said he was “more optimistic” about closing a deal on Friday afternoon than he had been in the morning. “There is no reason this cannot be done” by Monday, Ehrlich said of the deal to reduce rates from a proposed 72 percent increase.
House Speaker Michael Busch, D, said a special session might be appropriate “if the governor has a plan.” But he pointed out that the bill to block the Constellation merger with Florida Power and Light had strong bipartisan support.
