ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - With pomp and sorrow, House Speaker Michael Busch will be laid to rest in Maryland's capital.
A skilled bureaucratic and political player, Busch died earlier this month at age 72. He was the longest-serving House speaker in the state's history.
A Tuesday motorcade will be led by state troopers from the rotunda of the Maryland State House. Busch's casket will be transported to a Catholic church in Annapolis where mourners including Republican Gov. Larry Hogan will pay their final respects.
A progressive Democrat, Busch as speaker oversaw Maryland's approval of same-sex marriage and the repeal of the death penalty. He was a defender of the Chesapeake Bay's fragile ecosystem.
He was first elected to the House in 1986 and became speaker in 2003. His district included the state capital.
Last Respects
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Mourners paid their final respects to House Speaker Michael Busch in the rotunda of the Maryland State House.
The Baltimore Sun reports hundreds of mourners filed past a casket bearing Busch's body in the State House on Monday.
Bagpipes played "Amazing Grace" as an honor guard carried the casket through the State House front door. The coffin was placed on a bier near the historic House of Delegates mace, a 300-year-old wooden and silver staff that marks when the chamber is in session.
Public visitation was scheduled to continue through Tuesday morning. A funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. John Neuman Church in Annapolis.
