Posted under Ethics
A State House source tells the New Line that Del. Saqib Ali will kick off this year’s legislative session by dropping a bill that requires any U.S. Senate vacancy in Maryland to be filled by special election, rather than Gubernatorial appointment. The timing hasn’t been finalized, but Del. Ali could drop the bill as soon as this afternoon.
If enacted into law that bill would take effect in 2015. Del. Ali has told colleagues that he inserted the provision to avoid any implication that sitting Governor Martin O’Malley is corrupt.
The bill appears to be an effort to avoid a repeat of the debacle in Illinois. Gov. Rod Blagojevich was able to appoint Roland Burris to the vacancy created by Barack Obama even after Blagojevich was indicted for trying to sell the seat.
Blagojevich was subsequently impeached by the Illinois House. Nevertheless, after initial resistance, Burris is expected to be seated by the U.S. Senate this week.
2 Responses to “SCOOP: Delegate To Drop Bill Requiring U.S. Senate Vacancies To Be Filled By Special Election”
Ted on 14 Jan 2009 at 10:42 am #
I think this is a pretty good idea but is unlikely to pass. Democrats control all levels of government in Maryland right now. Why would they want to risk the possibility of a Republican filling a vacancy?
Appointed Senators Should Lead The Charge To End Appointments « The Marathon Blog by Phil Singer on 25 Jan 2009 at 11:03 am #
[...] in some states (Maryland, Rhode Island) are starting to act on their own but the federal government and the U.S. Senate can [...]