Massachusetts lawmakers fulfilled Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s dying wish Wednesday, granting the governor the power to appoint an interim replacement for him so President Barack Obama can regain a critical 60th U.S. Senate vote he needs to pass a health care overhaul this year.
The final House and Senate votes came after another vote in which House members refused to attach an emergency preamble to the bill. That left it up to Gov. Deval Patrick to decide whether he’ll force the measure into law immediately, instead of the normal 90 days required of all legislation.
He could do so as early as Thursday, simply with a letter to the secretary of state declaring an emergency since a special election to replace Kennedy permanently won’t be held until Jan. 19. But even some of his fellow Democrats have accused him of a power grab.