Clean air bill clears House committee

A bill that would place stringent pollution controls on Maryland power plants cleared a key hurdle in the House yesterday.

A year after snuffing out the Healthy Air Act, the Economic Matters Committee approved the bill, setting up a debate by the full membership of the House of Delegates.

A version of the bill already has cleared the Senate and it has favorable odds in the House, where more than half of the members are cosponsors.

Supporters are confident the bill will reach the governor's desk, but what happens after that remains in question.

Many of the requirements in the Healthy Air Act are similar to Gov....