
Welcome
to the State of Maryland Resident and Constituent Issues and Alert Page.
All information found on this page is for the informational
purposes of the reader, and the views
and opinions of the written content contained herein, are not neccessarily
those opinions and views of the Trustees Leadership and Sponsors of the
New Greater Holabird Norwood Community Alliance Partnership.
Office
of the Governor of the State of Maryland
***SPECIAL
ALERT FROM DELEGATE McDONOUGH***
(Effective 01 December 2008)
ATTORNEY
GENERAL "DUCKS" CONSTELLATION
BGE
SALE QUESTION
As you may know, I have been working vigorously to prevent the questionable sale of Constellation Energy to Mid-American Company. Constellation Energy is, in my opinion, a $30 billion Fortune 500 company being sold at a fire sale to Warren Buffett for a mere $5 billion dollars. This disastrous transaction will impact millions of Maryland consumers and tens of thousands of shareholders in a negative way. I believe all of the authority and resources of the state government should be brought to bear regarding this sale in order to protect the people of our state. I have asked the Governor to create a "Commission" regarding this matter, which he refused to initiate. I have forwarded informative and educational letters about this transaction to all of the members of the Maryland General Assembly.
Finally, and probably most importantly, I have asked the Attorney General to take two important actions. First, more than a month ago, I forwarded to Attorney General Gansler a group of 24 questions related to the Constellation Energy sale and asked him to respond by indicating which questions apply to his authority. I have not received a response as of this time.
Secondly, on November 14th, I sent a letter to the Attorney General's office directing them to provide me with a formal opinion related to a specific part of the pending sale. I clearly outlined that this advice was needed in order for me to file state legislation. It is my understanding that the Attorney General is mandated by law to provide such advice, especially when connected to pending legislation. Mr. Robert N. McDonald, Chief Counsel for Opinions and Advice, has informed me in writing that he will not exercise his duty to assist with advice about my proposed legislation. He based his decision on the misguided belief that other state agencies and the courts are already addressing questions regarding the sale of Constellation Energy Group. It is my contention that the Attorney General is still required to provide an opinion in order to guarantee the accuracy and validity of proposed legislation. The legislative process should not be hindered or dismissed by pending court actions or the responsibilities of other state agencies.
I
will be sending a follow-up letter to the Attorney General, expressing my
strong disagreement with his position. If you wish to contact the
Attorney General's office with your thoughts on this issue, you may do so by
e-mailing Robert N. McDonald, Chief Counsel of Opinions and Advice, at bmcdonald@oag.state.md.us. The phone number for the Attorney General's
office is 410-576-6300.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
updated October 1st, 2009