Democratic lawmakers pressed again Friday for the release of $3.5 million to train clinicians as Maryland’s expanded abortion law is set to take effect — but Republican Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. continued to express doubt about the law, which would allow providers other than physicians to perform the procedures.
Hogan vetoed the bill — which also required expanded insurance coverage for abortion procedures — earlier this year and was overridden by Democrats in the legislature. The $3.5 million is codified as a mandated annual expense beginning in 2023, but an amendment to the next fiscal year budget could release the funding as soon as July 1 — if the governor agrees.
The letter sent Friday was signed by Del. Ariana Kelly (D-Montgomery) and 82 other Democratic legislators, and is part of an effort to persuade the governor after Tuesday’s revelation of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would roll back the protections from Roe v. Wade.
“You have committed to treating reproductive rights as ‘settled law’ in Maryland, and yet in the face of grave threats, you appear to be failing to protect these rights for Marylanders,” the lawmakers wrote.
The state should release funding as quickly as possible to help with an influx of patients if the leaked Supreme Court draft in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization takes effect; if made final, the court opinion would create a patchwork of legal abortion access across the country by leaving policymaking to the states, 26 of which are poised to ban the procedure immediately, or place severe restrictions on it, according to an analysis from the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-reproductive rights research group. Those states are concentrated in the South and Midwest.
Hogan said earlier this week that he would not release the funding, which was echoed by spokesman Michael Ricci on Friday afternoon.
“This funding has no effect on the rights of Marylanders whatsoever. It is an attempt to rush through taxpayer money outside the normal budget process a year ahead of schedule for a program that raises serious concerns about setting back standards for women’s health,” Ricci wrote in an email. “As Maryland Matters itself said, Democrats are seeking a political advantage here — and it would appear they are willing to do so at the expense of the facts.”
Separately, Del. Lesley Lopez (D-Montgomery), the president of the Women’s Legislative Caucus of Maryland, sent a letter on behalf of caucus members this week asking Hogan to release the funding — and calling on all gubernatorial candidates to release the money on their first day in office should he not.
“Within several months if not weeks, we may be one of the few safe states within reach for women as far away as Texas. We cannot desert any woman, whether from Maryland or other state, who needs abortion care services,” Lopez wrote.
Hogan appoints new PSC commissioner
The five-member Maryland Public Service Commission has a new member.
Commissioner Mindy L. Herman, who has been a member of the commission since 2017, retired this week. In her place, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) has nominated Patrice M. “Patty” Bubar, who has served as deputy director of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection since 2015. She has also held senior positions at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Bubar’s first day at the commission will be May 18. She’ll eventually need to be confirmed by the state Senate next year, when the General Assembly reconvenes. The commissioners customarily serve five-year terms.
A resident of Gaithersburg, Bubar earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.
The Public Service Commission regulates electric and gas utilities and suppliers, telephone companies, certain water and sewer companies, passenger motor vehicle carriers for hire and some taxicab companies.
Photo: The Maryland State House in Annapolis. Photo by Christopher Boswell, stock.adobe.com.
