So this delegate walks into the Chairman’s office – in Annapolis speak, the back room.

I was about to make an impassioned 1st Amendment argument for my libel tourism bill.

But discussion of legislation was put on hold.

The delegate wanted my chairman’s advice on how to handle a theft charge against one of his clients.

We are, after all, a citizen legislature.

An hour later, I walked into the Economic Matters Committee hearing room.

My share of bills has been heard there over the years, but this was the first time I was testifying on legislation dealing with utilities.

“Each of us shops online for the best price for hotels, air travel, and books,” I told the committee. “However, very few of our constituents are going online to compare utility costs.”

House Bill 744 would require the Public Service Commission to make comparative information about electricity prices easily accessible to the public.

The chairman didn’t ask me any questions, but he did ask a later witness about how to pay for creating the website and the other educational efforts mandated by my bill.

A very positive sign.

I‘ll talk further with the chairman on the House floor tomorrow.