Michael E. Busch

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Michael Erin "Coach" Busch[1] (January 4, 1947 – April 7, 2019) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 106th Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2003 until his death in 2019. Busch was a member of the House for nine terms, beginning in 1987. He represented all of legislative District 30 prior to redistricting in 2012, and represented District 30A after the district was split following the 2010 census. The district encompasses parts of Anne Arundel County, including the state capital of Annapolis.[1]

Background

Busch was born in Baltimore and was a lifelong resident of the state of Maryland. He attended St. Mary's High School in Annapolis and in 1970 received his B.S. degree in education from Temple University, where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity.[2]

Busch was pursued by the National Football League as a running back, prior to a knee injury. Busch then returned to Maryland to coach athletics and teach.

He was married to Cynthia Abbott Busch, with whom he had two children, Erin and Megan.

Legislative career

Busch first got involved in politics at the urging of parents of his students. After winning election to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1986, Busch served on the Judiciary Committee, the Economic Matters Committee, which he later chaired, and as Chairman of the Anne Arundel County Delegation before being elected Speaker.[3] Busch repeatedly won reelection in an evenly-split district and served alongside other delegates in District 30 from both the Republican Party and Democratic Party during his tenure in the House. As Speaker, he had significant influence over matters in the House and in state government overall. He served through 5 governors and alongside his counterpart in the state senate, long-time President of the Maryland Senate Mike Miller.

At the beginning of the 2003 session of the Maryland Legislature, Busch was elected Speaker of the House by his colleagues in the Maryland House of Delegates. He became the longest-serving Speaker in Maryland history.[4]

Busch was known for his interest in the areas of healthcare, education, and economic development. During the 2007 legislative session, he sponsored a bill with other members of the leadership titled the Children and Working Families Healthcare Act of 2007, which proposed to provide health care access to 250,000 Marylanders and all children in the state.[5]

Democrats held a supermajority in the House throughout Busch's terms in office. Busch successfully leveraged his party's majority to advance his legislative goals over the objections of Republican Governors Larry Hogan and Bob Ehrlich. The House overrode a number of vetoes by both aforementioned governors during Busch's time as Speaker. Some significant veto overrides include raising the state's minimum wage,[6] twice,[7] restoring voting rights to felons,[8] closing a hotel sales tax loophole,[8] increasing funding for performing arts,[8] and creating a new Public Service Commission.[9]

Busch had significant knowledge of procedural rules of the House and occasionally maneuvered to block efforts by the minority party to advance legislation outside the normal committee process.[10] Notably, in 2015 Busch blocked an attempt by Republicans to put forward legislation to ban gay marriage in the state by ending the day's session abruptly in a rare move.[11]

Speaker Busch was also instrumental in the passage of LGBTQ+ supportive legislation in Maryland. He rallied his caucus to support legislation allowing visitation rights for unmarried partners before gay marriage was legalized in the state.[12][13] He also led the fight to legalize gay marriage in the state before other key lawmakers supported the measure.[14] His first attempts to pass the legislation failed,[15] however in 2012 he was successful in leading his caucus to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriage.[16] The legislation was forced to a ballot referendum in the 2012 general election.[17] The ballot referendum, known as Question 6, passed.[18]

Legislative notes

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  • sponsored The Tax Reform Act of 2007 (HB2),[19] which raised income tax, sales tax from 5% to 6%, and business tax from 7% to 8.25%. The bill was part of a special session that raised state revenues an estimated $1.4 Billion.[20]
  • sponsored The Safe Schools Act of 2010, to break down communication barriers between school personnel and law enforcement
  • voted for the Maryland Gang Prosecution Act of 2007 (HB713), subjecting gang members to up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $100,000[21]
  • voted for Jessica's Law (HB 930), eliminating parole for the most violent child sexual predators and creating a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in state prison, 2007[22]
  • voted for Public Safety – Statewide DNA Database System – Crimes of Violence and Burglary – Post conviction (HB 370), helping to give police officers and prosecutors greater resources to solve crimes and eliminating a backlog of 24,000 unanalyzed DNA samples, leading to 192 arrests, 2008[23]
  • voted for Vehicle Laws – Repeated Drunk and Drugged Driving Offenses – Suspension of License (HB 293), strengthening Maryland's drunk driving laws by imposing a mandatory one year license suspension for a person convicted of drunk driving more than once in five years, 2009[24]
  • voted for HB 102, creating the House Emergency Medical Services System Workgroup, leading to Maryland's budgeting of $52 million to fund three new Medevac helicopters to replace the State's aging fleet, 2009[25]
  • voted for SB 715, removing the requirement to show proof of citizenship or valid social security number, allowing undocumented individuals to obtain and renew drivers licenses in the state of Maryland[26]
  • voted for SB 422, requiring public school teachers to pay union dues, effectively removing the ability of the teacher to choose to be in the union[27]
  • voted nay to HB 359, resulting in the denial of all handgun permits to victims of domestic abuse[28]
  • voted for SB 269, authorizing speed monitoring systems[29]

Speaker Busch voted multiple times to support classroom teachers, public schools, police and hospitals in Anne Arundel County. Since 2002, throughout his Speakership, funding to schools across the state increased 82%, resulting in Maryland being ranked top in the nation for K-12 education.[30]

Awards

  • 2010 Most Influential Maryland Legislators (Top 20)[31]

Death

File:JA1 8613 (47577356002).jpg
Michael Busch lies in state at the Maryland State Capitol.

Busch underwent a liver transplant in 2017. As his health declined, his supporters adopted the nickname "Iron Mike" to emphasize his strength and resilience as he tried to recover from the transplant.[32] He reportedly fell ill with pneumonia on March 26, 2019, after a follow-up procedure.[33] He was hospitalized at the University of Maryland Medical Center, where he died from complications of pneumonia and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis on April 7.[34] Maryland Governor Larry Hogan ordered flags to be flown at half-staff following his death.[35] Busch was laid in state at the Maryland State House rotunda on April 15, 2019. His funeral took place on April 16 at St. John Neumann Church in Annapolis and was followed by a reception at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.[36] He was laid to rest on April 16, 2019.[37] Tributes from across the state flowed in following Busch's death.[32][38][36][39][40][41][42][43]

Legacy

In 2019, Maryland Hall, a cultural and arts center located in Annapolis renamed their building the Michael E. Busch Center for the Arts at Maryland Hall,[44] in honor of Busch, who had fought for funding for the institution throughout his career.[45][46]

In 2020, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman directed that the newly built Annapolis branch of the Anne Arundel County Public Library be named the Michael E. Busch Annapolis Library in Busch's honor.[47][48][49]

In 2020, the District 30 Democratic Club, a social political club representing the same legislative district that Busch represented, was renamed the Michael E. Busch District 30 Democratic club in his honor.[50]

Election results

  • 2018 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 30A[51]
Voters to choose two:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Michael E. Busch, Dem. 20,080   32.6%    Won
Alice J. Cain, Dem. 18,070   29.3%    Won
Chelsea Gill, Rep. 12,097   19.6%    Lost
Bob O'Shea, Rep. 11,324   18.4%    Lost
Other Write-Ins 53   0.01%    Lost
  • 2014 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 30A[52]
Voters to choose two:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Herb McMillan, Rep. 14,484   27.9%    Won
Michael E. Busch, Dem. 14,289   27.6%    Won
Chuck Ferrar, Dem. 11,932   23.0%    Lost
Genevieve Lindner, Rep. 11,100   21.4%    Lost
Other Write-Ins 56   0.01%    Lost
  • 2010 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – 30th District[53]
Voters to choose three:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Ron George, Rep. 25,631   19.25%    Won
Michael E. Busch, Dem. 23,995   18.02%    Won
Herb McMillan, Rep. 22,553   16.94%    Won
Virginia P. Clagett, Dem. 21,142   15.88%    Lost
Seth Howard, Rep. 20,080   15.08%    Lost
Judd Legum, Dem. 19,670   14.77%    Lost
  • 2006 Race for Maryland House of Delegates– 30th District[54]
Voters to choose three:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Michael E. Busch, Dem. 22,479   17.1%    Won
Virginia P. Clagett, Dem. 22,360   17.0%    Won
Ron George, Rep. 21,811   16.6%    Won
Barbara Samorajczyk, Dem. 21,758   16.5%    Lost
Andy Smarick, Rep. 20,594   15.6%    Lost
Ron Elfenbein, Rep. 20,497   15.5%    Lost
  • 2002 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – 30th District[55]
Voters to choose three:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Michael E. Busch, Dem. 22,422   17.7%    Won
Virginia P. Clagett, Dem. 21,875   17.3%    Won
Herbert H. McMillan, Rep. 20,972   16.6%    Won
C. Richard D'Amato, Dem. 20,545   16.3%    Lost
Michael Collins, Rep. 19,140   15.1%    Lost
Nancy Almgren, Rep. 18,861   14.9%    Lost
David M. Gross, Green 2,536   2.0%    Lost
Other Write-Ins 71   0.1%    Lost
  • 1998 Race for Maryland House of Delegates– District 30[56]
Voters to choose three:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Michael E. Busch, Dem. 24,075   21%    Won
Virginia P. Clagett, Dem. 24,036   21%    Won
C. Richard D'Amato, Dem. 20,223   18%    Won
Phillip D. Bissett, Rep. 18,690   16%    Lost
Edward J. Turner, Rep. 14,119   12%    Lost
Anthony McConkey, Rep. 12,353   11%    Lost
  • 1994 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 30[57]
Voters to choose three:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Michael E. Busch, Dem. 18,709   19%    Won
Phillip D. Bissett, Rep. 18,009   23%    Won
Virginia P. Clagett, Dem. 18,254   18%    Won
Ralph C. Rosacker, Rep. 16,299   16%    Lost
Joan Beck, Rep. 15,974   16%    Lost
John C. Eldridge Jr., Dem. 13,320   13%    Lost
  • 1990 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 30[58]
Voters to choose three:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
John Astle, Dem. 18,009   23%    Won
Aris T. Allen, Rep. 16,951   22%    Won
Michael E. Busch, Dem. 16,104   18%    Won
Edith Segree, Dem. 14,341   18%    Lost
Phillip D. Bissett, Rep. 13,321   17%    Lost

References

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External links

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Template:S-end
Political offices
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates
2003–2019 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
  1. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ 2011 Pi Lambda Phi Membership Directory
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