Amid the traditional bill-signing celebrating the end of the 90-day General Assembly session Tuesday, some lawmakers mourned the failure of other bills that weren?t so lucky.
Many of the major bills that failed involved thorny social and moral issues, including immigration, civil rights, the right to bear arms and a government?s ability to take private property for economic uses.
Sen. Lisa Gladden, D-Baltimore City, who led the charge to repeal the death penalty, said the issue had become “a when, not an if.”
Even Gov. Martin O?Malley?s vocal support for the repeal failed to garner the Senate committee votes needed to give the bill a chance.
“We?ve had a vote now, we?re pushing forward,” Gladden said. “I think if we make a good fiscal argument, then maybe we can get it through next year ? but this is all very personal? it?s about when people come to a realization that we shouldn?t be killing people.”
A Senate committee also killed a bill, approved by the House of Delegates, that would give children of illegal immigrants access to in-state college tuition rates.
Del. Victor Ramirez, D-Prince George?s, who sponsored the bill, said the supporters would re-examine their strategy before next year?s session.
“We need to find out where the problem is,” Ramirez said. He said the Senate?s leadership hadn?t been clear about why the bill didn?t receive a vote from the Senate Education, Health and EnvironmentalAffairs Committee.
“We?ll bring it back and we?re going to make it work ? and I think the governor needs to play a better role,” he said.
Among other bills that died when the clock struck midnight were a ban on the sale of assault-style weapons; a bill to make it easier to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon; and bills preventing governments from acquiring private property for economic development purposes.
After impassioned debate on the Senate floor, and intense negotiations in a House committee, a bill designed to settle a dispute between Towson University and Morgan State University also failed when both sides declined to compromise.
The bill was aimed at settling a disagreement over whether Towson?s MBA program violated a federal desegregation order. Senators approved a bill that allowed the parties involved to seek relief from the courts, while the House unanimously passed a bill mandating that the two sides go to arbitration to settle the dispute.
