Michael E. Busch

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Mike Busch
1busch.jpg
106th Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates
In office
January 8, 2003 – April 7, 2019
Preceded byCasper Taylor
Succeeded byAdrienne A. Jones
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 30th district
In office
January 14, 1987 – April 7, 2019
Preceded byElmer Hagner
Robert Kramer
Succeeded byShaneka Henson
Personal details
Born
Michael Erin Busch

(1947-01-04)January 4, 1947
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedApril 7, 2019(2019-04-07) (aged 72)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Cynthia Abbott
Children2
EducationTemple University (BA)

Michael Erin “Coach” Busch[1] (January 4, 1947 – April 7, 2019) was an American politician who served as Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2003 until his death in 2019. Busch was a member of the House since 1987. He represented District 30A, which encompasses parts of Anne Arundel County, including the state capital of Annapolis.[1]

Background[]

Busch was born in Baltimore City 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 in 1986 to the House of Delegates, Busch served on the Judiciary Committee, the Economic Matters Committee, which he later chaired, and as Chairman of the Anne Arundel County Delegation.[citation needed]

At the beginning of the 2003 session of the Maryland Legislature, Busch was elected, by his colleagues in the Maryland House of Delegates, Speaker of the House. Speaker Busch was known for his interest in the areas of health, insurance, and economic development, with a focus on health care.[citation needed] During the 2007 legislative session, he sponsored a bill with other members of the leadership, 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.[3]

Legislative notes[]

  • sponsored The Tax Reform Act of 2007 (HB2) [1], 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 taxes an estimated $1.4 Billion. [2]
  • 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 [3]
  • 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 [4]
  • 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 [5]
  • 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 [6]
  • 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 [7]
  • 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 [8]
  • 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 [9]
  • voted nay to HB 359, resulting in the denial of all handgun permits to victims of domestic abuse [10]
  • voted for SB 269, authorizing speed monitoring systems [11]

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

Awards[]

  • 2010 Most Influential Maryland Legislators (Top 20)[4]

Death[]

Busch underwent a liver transplant in 2017, and reportedly fell ill with pneumonia on March 26, 2019, after a follow-up procedure.[5] He was hospitalized at the University of Maryland Medical Center, where he died from complications of pneumonia and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis on April 7.[6] Maryland Governor Larry Hogan ordered flags to be flown at half-staff following his death.[7]

Election results[]

  • 2018 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 30A[8]
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[9]
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[10]
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[11]
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[12]
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[13]
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[14]
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[15]
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[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Michael E. Busch, Maryland House Speaker". msa.maryland.gov.
  2. ^ 2011 Pi Lambda Phi Membership Directory
  3. ^ Rein, Lisa (2007-02-08). "Md. House Leaders Offer Plan to Widen Health Coverage". Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  4. ^ Poll (2 April 2010). "Where Does Your Legislator Rank? See the list". Maryland Gazette of Politics and Business. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  5. ^ Wiggins, Ovita (April 1, 2019). "Maryland House Speaker Busch is being treated for pneumonia, could miss the rest of the legislative session". The Washington Post.
  6. ^ Bernstein, Adam (April 7, 2019). "Michael Busch, longest-serving speaker of Maryland's House, dies at 72". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  7. ^ Collins, David (7 April 2019). "Governor Hogan orders Maryland Flags to fly at half staff in honor of House Speaker Michael Busch who passed this afternoon. He was 72.pic.twitter.com/CU48jmvTb6".
  8. ^ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 11, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  9. ^ "2014 General Election Official Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  10. ^ "2010 General Election Official Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  11. ^ "Official 2007 Gubernatorial General Election results for Anne Arundel County". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
  12. ^ "House of Delegates Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved on Jan, 20th, 2008
  13. ^ "House of Delegates Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved on Nov. 7, 2007
  14. ^ "House of Delegates Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved on Nov. 7, 2007
  15. ^ "House of Delegates Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved on Nov. 7, 2007

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by
Casper Taylor 		Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates
2003–2019 		Succeeded by
Adrienne A. Jones
Retrieved from ""