Md. governor to skip energy re-regulation measure this session, plans to fight foreclosures

Md. gov to skip energy re-regulation this session

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said Tuesday he won’t push for legislation to re-regulate energy markets again in this upcoming session, relying instead on the Public Service Commission to use existing authority to order new power generation as needed.

Legislation backed by O’Malley to steer Maryland back toward some re-regulation of energy markets died in a House committee last session. This time, O’Malley said trying to persuade the House to go along with the proposal would “be a distraction, and I think it would delay what we need to do.”

“Instead, we’re going to move with the powers that the Public Service Commission already has and in time the House will come around to what I think is the right way to proceed,” O’Malley said in an interview with The Associated Press.

O’Malley already has urged the PSC to order new power if necessary. The PSC is considering two cases in which it could order utilities to build new generation.

“Part of the push back from the House leadership has been that we already have the authority to do much of what we’re asking them to vote on, and they said: ‘Go do it and come back to us if you need more authority,’ so that’s what we’re going to do,” O’Malley said.

Last year’s legislation, which was approved by the Senate, was an effort to return some of the authority lost by the PSC after lawmakers decided in 1999 to deregulate.

O’Malley also said he will be backing legislation to help people facing foreclosure on their homes by creating mandatory mediation between borrowers and lenders.

“This home foreclosure crisis, that machinery goes merrily along, putting a lot of people out of homes, and we need to slow it down,” O’Malley said.

O’Malley said the idea behind the legislation, which is still being planned, is to help people who could be eligible for a modification on their mortgage to avoid foreclosure.

“People who are eligible for a modification and can save their homes, need somebody on the other end of that line to pick up the damn phone — and that’s just not happening to the degree that it needs to,” O’Malley said.

The governor also emphasized that job creation will be the major focus of his legislative agenda this session, which begins on Wednesday.

“My whole focus this session is going to be on jobs,” O’Malley said. “Everything that we put our political muscle and political capital and political push behind will be about jobs.”

Even though the state is facing a $2 billion budget deficit, O’Malley said the state will be able to proceed with capital projects, because of Maryland’s Triple A bond rating. O’Malley said he’s hoping that will help revive construction jobs, which have been heavily hit by the recession.