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The First Vote in Annapolis


by Sen. Rich Madaleno
Thursday, January 10, 2008

Earlier this afternoon, marriage equality opponents attempted to turn a regulatory hearing on insurance coverage into a debate on the sanctity of marriage. A group of conservative Republicans on the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review, of which I am a member, tried every angle to scuttle an attempt by the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) to define "domestic partners" in regulation. These regulations were issued to implement Del. Heather Mizeur's bill mandating that insurance companies provide domestic partnership coverage for employers who request it. It was one of Equality Maryland's signature pieces of legislation last year.

The bill was written to allow the MIA to come up with a definition they thought was fair to both insurers and employers, preventing insurers from making the definition too narrow and employers from making the definition too broad. Apparently, any definition at all was going to threaten the "institution of marriage," which Del. Michael Smigiel (R-Upper Shore) dramatically pointed out, has been consistent since the "founding of our country."

The opponents frantically tried to label this definition as a backdoor way of creating common law marriages. They tried to convince my colleagues that lawsuits would rain down on both insurers and the state. And they demanded that an Attorney General's opinion was needed on the legal ramifications of creating this definition. But, they failed on every count. In the end, three quarters of the members present voted for my motion to adopt the regulations. Below are the votes of the members who were present.

Voting Yes:
Sen. Gwendolyn Britt (D-Prince George's)
Sen. Jennie Forehand (D-Montgomery)
Sen. Lisa Gladden (D-Baltimore City)
Sen. Nancy King (D-Montgomery)
Sen. Alan Kittleman (R-Howard)
Sen. Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery)
Sen. Paul Pinsky (D-Prince George's)
Del. Bill Bronrott (D-Montgomery)
Del. Brian Feldman (D-Montgomery)
Del. Anne Healey (D-Prince George's)
Del. Dan Morhaim (D-Baltimore County)
Del. Justin Ross (D-Prince George's)

Voting No:
Sen. David Brinkley (R-Frederick)
Sen. Rich Colburn (R-Middle Shore)
Del. Addie Eckardt (R-Middle Shore)
Del. Mike Smigiel (R-Upper Shore)