Michael E. Busch  Michael Erin “Coach” Busch (January 4, 1947 – April 7, 2019) was an American politician who served as Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2003 until his death in 2019. Busch was a member of the House since 1987. He represented District 30A, which encompasses parts of Anne Arundel County, including the state capital of Annapolis. Busch was born in Baltimore City and was a lifelong resident of the state of Maryland. He attended St. Mary's High School in Annapolis and in 1970 received his B.S. degree in education from Temple University, where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. Busch was pursued by the National Football League as a running back, prior to a knee injury. Busch then returned to Maryland to coach athletics and teach. He was married to Cynthia Abbott Busch, with whom he had two children, Erin and Megan. Busch first got involved in politics at the urging of parents of his students. After winning election in 1986 to the House of Delegates, Busch served on the Judiciary Committee, the Economic Matters Committee, which he later chaired, and as Chairman of the Anne Arundel County Delegation. At the beginning of the 2003 session of the Maryland Legislature, Busch was elected, by his colleagues in the Maryland House of Delegates, Speaker of the House. Speaker Busch was known for his interest in the areas of health, insurance, and economic development, with a focus on health care. During the 2007 legislative session, he sponsored a bill with other members of the leadership, the Children and Working Families Healthcare Act of 2007, which proposed to provide health care access to 250,000 Marylanders and all children in the state. Speaker Busch voted multiple times to support classroom teachers, public schools, police and hospitals in Anne Arundel County. Since 2002, funding to schools across the State has increased 82%, resulting in Maryland being ranked top in the nation for K-12 education. Busch underwent a liver transplant in 2017, and reportedly fell ill with pneumonia on March 26, 2019, after a follow-up procedure. He was hospitalized at the University of Maryland Medical Center, where he died from complications of pneumonia and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis on April 7. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan ordered flags to be flown at half-staff following his death.