Health insurance benefit bill passes Senate

The state Senate yesterday approved a bill that would force Wal-Mart to pay a larger share of its employee health benefits, setting up a showdown with Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who promised to veto the measure "in a heartbeat."

The House of Delegates already has passed the "Fair Share Health Care Act," though its version of the bill differs slightly from the version that passed in the Senate. It passed in the Senate with one more vote than needed to override a veto, though it passed in the House one vote shy of enough to override.

But supporters say several lawmakers who support the bill were absent during the vote in the...