Lawmakers to Hold Special Session
The Maryland General Assembly will hold a special session today, Tuesday, Dec. 28th, in Annapolis for purpose of bringing some sort of order to chaos over medical malpractice....no one is sure how in tarnation this will come about, how committees can meet and hold hearings in a single day on the governor's proposed changes in Maryland laws, so hold on to your seats....St. Mary's and Calvert Delegate Tony O'Donnell (R. Lusby) was booted off of a key committee charged with reviewing changes in the law, he was dumped by Speaker Michael Busch (D. Annapolis) in a partisan swipe.

"I was the senior Republican on the Judiciary committee and he replaced me with a Republican that is a trial lawyer as he knows I am not in favor of his tax on HMO's," Del. O'Donnell told ST. MARY'S TODAY on Monday in a phone interview from his office in Annapolis.

"An HMO tax will do nothing but hurt lower income families and workers across Maryland and this is the wrong way to solve the problem, raising taxes is not the way."

O'Donnell said that there had been a deal to solve the malpractice dilemma which is forcing Maryland doctors to quit delivering babies, according to a report in a Baltimore newspaper, which had quoted the majority leader, but that the deal had evidently fallen apart.

O'Donnell doesn't have too much to complain about, said Del. John Bohanan as he landed a seat on the Appropriations Committee.

"The truth of the matter is that the Governor could have solved this mess back in September if he wanted to," said Bohanan on Monday evening.  "The Governor has more constitutional power than any governor in the nation and he could have used that power to put an end to this crisis.  But he either doesn't want to, or hasn't bothered to learn how to operate the state government.  His legislative liaison is a big zero who made his name in Annapolis for killing bills, not passing them.  It takes a lot of hard work to get a bill passed, it doesn't take too much talent to kill them."

"The people of Maryland deserve quality health care from caring doctors who can make a living," said Bohanan.  "I don't know why that in this day and age we can't make sure that both happen."

Senator Roy Dyson (D. Calvert, Charles, St. Mary's) said that he questioned the wisdom of spending the money on a special session when the regular session begins in just two weeks.
"There is more talk from this administration on saving money than there is substance, but it's just
that talk -- nothing more than that -- talk. Where is the substance?" " said Dyson.  "If the Governor wanted to provide the leadership on solving medical malpractice where was he last session?  Playing golf or working at government?  I think the photos of the Governor show the answer, he was on the golf course."