Maryland House Speaker Michael Busch to be laid to rest

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.