The Environment

There are so many issues that affect Maryland’s environment, including the harmful effects of climate change, the challenges of single-use plastics, and the health of our precious waterways.   

Maryland has made significant progress in reducing global warming pollution.  But we can do much more.  We need to transform how we produce and consume energy.  I will support and expand programs that promote the use of clean energy sources, while also supporting programs that use energy more efficiently.

The Chesapeake Bay is one of Maryland’s most precious natural resources. And it is of significant importance to District 16, as the Potomac River is a major tributary of the Bay and supplies much of our drinking water. From the protection of oyster sanctuaries to targeting harmful human-made products that pollute our waterways to ensuring that federal programs like the Clean Water Act are fully funded and enforceable, I am committed to ensuring the health of our water.    

I serve on the Environment and Transportation Committee. Every day we work to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, our families' health, and the places we love.  

Passed a lot of great environmental legislation!!

* HB 6 - the Maryland Sustainable Buildings Act of 2023, requires that the Department of General Services develop and periodically update standards regarding energy conservation in State buildings. In addition, newly constructed buildings, buildings that are undergoing major renovations, and buildings that are over 50% state-owned are compliant with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards.

* HB 723/SB 526 - Forest Preservation and Retention. I am honored to have been the lead House sponsor on this bill updating and strengthening our Forest Conservation Act for the first time in 30 years. Through this bill we will now preserve more trees, which is better for our air and water, reduces our electricity bills, and increases our outdoor enjoyment.

See:

- Opinion: We can’t bulldoze our way out of the climate crisis. Maryland’s new forest protections propel nature-based solutions

- Historic Preservation Legislation Approved by Maryland General Assembly

- Maryland Lawmakers boost offshore wind, forest conservation among flurry of "green" bills.

* HB 793/SB 781 - Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources Act (the POWER Act), sets a goal of producing 8.5 gigawatts of electricity by 2031 off Maryland’s Atlantic coast. It also requires state agencies to work with PJM Interconnection, the regional electric grid manager, to build one or more transmission lines to carry the power to be generated by the offshore wind turbines to homes and businesses across the state.

* HB 908 - Community Solar Energy Generating Systems Program. This bill makes permanent the Community Solar Energy Generating Systems Pilot Program and requires a community solar energy generating system to serve at least 40% of its kilowatt-hour output to low-income and moderate-income subscribers under certain circumstances

* SB 470 - Maryland the Beautiful, sets a goal of preserving 30% of state lands by 2030, and 40% by 2040.

Passed:

* HB 649/SB 492 - “Zombie” Permit Ban, gives the Maryland Department of the Environment the tools to improve the water pollution inspection process and end “zombie” permits - water discharge permits that have expired but continue to be used. This will prevent water pollution, will ensure the safety of the state’s drinking water system and will prevent water contamination issues seen in Flint, Michigan.

* HB 696 - Electric School Bus Pilot Program, establishes a 3-year electric school bus pilot program to begin transitioning Maryland’s 7,300 school buses from diesel to electric buses. 

* HB 1228 - Oyster Restoration, provides funding for infrastructure upgrades that will help the state achieve its goal of producing 5 billion baby oysters by 2025. The bill also provides economic incentives to retain and reuse oyster shells. 

* HB 1391 - Clean Cars Act of 2022, extends the Clean Cars program for zero-emission and fuel cell electric vehicles that cost $50,000 or less. This bill is another important step in the right direction to reduce pollution and carbon emissions.

* SB 528 - Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022

This landmark legislation strengthens Maryland’s commitment to mitigating the effects of climate change by setting achievable goals to reduce greenhouse gases and meet the goal of net-zero statewide emissions by 2045.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets

This bill requires Maryland to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% from 2006 levels by 2031, which is 20% greater than requirements under current law. Additionally, the state is required to achieve net-zero statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. 

The final plan to reach the 2045 goal will be a data driven process and will require use of technology that has been scientifically proven to achieve verifiable carbon reductions and ensure continued use of Maryland’s existing zero carbon electric generators The plan may not take into account highway widening or new road construction as a greenhouse gas reduction measure.

Environmental Justice 

The bill requires the MDE, in coordination with the Commission on Environmental Justice to address issues of climate equity for communities disproportionately affected by climate change and defines in law what it means to be an “overburdened” or “underserved” community.

It is important to remember that these communities are distinct, diverse, and located across the state.

Maryland Commission on Climate Change Working Groups

The bill also establishes four workgroups under the purview of the MCCC to help further the goals of the bill:

·  Just Transition Employment and Retraining Work Group – improve workforce development, training, and job creation connected to increasing energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction

·  Energy Industry Revitalization Workgroup – study and advise on opportunities and challenges for small businesses in transition to using renewable energy

·  Energy Resilience and Efficiency Workgroup – identify opportunities to improve the state’s energy infrastructure, modernize energy transmission, and viability of battery backup

·  Solar Photovoltaic Systems Recovery, Reuse, and Recycling Workgroup – review systems and programs in the state to decommission, dispose, and recycle solar panels

International Green Construction Code (IGCC)

Requires the Department of Labor to adopt the 2018 version of the International Green Construction Code and ensure that each subsequent version of the code is adopted by the state within 18 months to keep Maryland in line with top green building design and performance standards.

Building Energy Performance Standards for Existing Buildings

The bill requires MDE to develop building energy performance standards to achieve a 20% reduction in net direct greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net-zero direct by 2040. To help MDE develop necessary guidelines, building owners must report direct emission data to MDE each year, starting in 2025.

Buildings covered in the bill include state, commercial, or multifamily residential buildings, with at least 35,000 square feet. The bill creates necessary exceptions for agricultural facilities (including greenhouses), schools, and manufacturing buildings. It also allows regulations to provide special provisions for hospitals, military facilities, assisted living facilities, and more, to be adopted as necessary to ensure normal operation.

Building Energy Transition Implementation Task Force

This task force will work to make recommendations for programs and incentives to reduce emissions from the building sector through retrofitting and electrification.

Public Service Commission

Extends the EmPOWER Maryland program energy savings requirement beyond 2% by requiring each electric company to procure or provide cost effective energy efficiency and conservation programs and services to customers to reach gross energy savings of 2.25% in 2025 and 2026, and 2.5% in 2027. 

The bill also instructs electric companies to work with the Maryland Energy Administration and submit their plan for achieving annual incremental gross energy to the PSC every three years. The PSC is also required to research more cost-effective, energy efficient services and conduct a system planning study to assess energy capacity and distribution ability to better serve customers for a transition to a highly electrified building sector.

Zero-emission Vehicles School Buses & Electric School Bus Pilot Program

This bill promotes the expansion of electric school buses by requiring county boards of education to purchase electric school buses if there is available federal, state, or private funding and ensures MDE works with county boards and private school bus contractors to develop a sufficient electric school bus infrastructure. 

The bill also establishes the Electric School Bus Pilot Program which partners with investor-owned utilities to facilitate public school bus fleets to transition from dirty diesel fuel buses to clean electric buses at no additional cost. This will help improve air quality for our kids, drivers, and neighbors, improve electric grid reliability and reduce costs for ratepayers. 

Zero-emission Passenger Cars and Other Light-duty Vehicles

This requires 100% of the passenger car state vehicle fleet to be ZEVs by 2031 and other light-duty vehicles to be ZEVs by 2036. The bill sets benchmarks for future ZEV state purchases to increase as necessary to meet the goals.

Transitioning the state vehicle fleet will result in major reductions in emissions and continue to incentivize improvements to the state electric vehicle infrastructure.

Electric Distribution System Planning

Under this section of the bill, the PSC and MEA are required to assist utility companies in acquiring federal funds under the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act for electric grid improvement projects. This will greatly improve the quality of services provided and help improve the grid for future energy advancements.

Additionally, the bill also extends prevailing wage and labor requirements for contractors and subcontractors working on portions of projects with are federally funded for electric and gas companies for electric infrastructure. 

The bill requires a first of its kind study focused solely on the State’s electric grid capacity with a report due in September 2023.  Collecting and assessing critical data, this report lays the foundation for future policy decisions on electrification.

* SB 541 - The Great Maryland Outdoors Act, provides better support to the Maryland Park Service and makes critical improvements based on the recommendations by the State Parks Investment Commission. During the pandemic, patronage to Maryland’s state parks increased by 45%; parks were unable to support the increased capacity because of decades of underfunding. This bill corrects decades of underfunding by providing nearly $68M to address backlogged maintenance projects and repairs and new land acquisition to expand parks for better public access, historic preservation, flood mitigation and enhanced staffing. It also includes $20M for transportation improvements, parking availability and trail connectivity. Additionally, the bill leverages power between county and state parks for better partnerships to create a pipeline to hire and retain diverse staff, improve oversight to the park system and promote our state parks so every Marylander has access to their state parks.

* HB 740 - State Retirement and Pension System - Investment Climate Risk, requires a fiduciary of the State Retirement and Pension System (SRPS), when managing assets of the system and in accordance with statutory fiduciary responsibilities, to consider the potential systemic risks of the impact of climate change on the system’s assets.

* Passed HB 507/SB 119, the Clean Water Commerce Act of 2021. This bill reauthorizes the Clean Water Commerce Act and allows the use of funds from the Bay Restoration Fund to further our efforts to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. 

* Passed my bill, HB 76/SB 334, to ensure that Maryland follows the federal Clean Water Act and allows citizens to intervene in State Clean Water Act enforcement actions.

* Addressed trees! Not only are they beautiful to look at, trees are also one of the best tools to combat climate change because they naturally capture carbon and are effective at reducing stormwater runoff. HB 991, the Tree Solutions Now Act of 2021, establishes a statewide goal of planting 5,000,000 trees, including at least 500,000 in underserved areas; requires a technical study of the forests in Maryland; and addresses forest mitigation banking under the Forest Conservation Act.

* Updated our outdated stormwater management data. Due to climate change, storms have become more frequent and more intense, yet the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) is using rainfall data from the 1990s in our stormwater regulations. As a result, our infrastructure cannot handle the increased rainfall and we have massive flooding. I was proud to sponsor HB 295/SB 227 requiring MDE to use updated rainfall data for stormwater regulations.

* Instituted a composting program through HB 264. This bill requires facilities that have over two tons of food residuals each week and are within 30 miles of an organics recycling facility to separate their food residuals and ensure that they are diverted from the waste system by either donating serviceable foods, composting onsite, or sending them off-site for composting.

* Continued to encourage the use of electric vehicles through a number of bills. HB 44 extends the electric vehicle recharging rebate program. HB 110 establishes standards relating to the use and installation of electric vehicle charging stations in condominiums and homeowner associations. HB 784 requires builders of new housing units to provide owners the option of installing electric car charging units or a dedicated line for such a unit. SB137 requires the Maryland Transit Administration to purchase more zero-emission buses and to submit a report regarding transitioning its bus fleet to zero-emission vehicles.

* Began to address Environmental Justice in Maryland by passing HB 1207/SB 674 to reform and revitalize the Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities. Among other duties, the Commission will: use data sets and mapping tools to review and analyze the impact of current State and local laws, permits, actions, and policies on the issue of environmental justice and sustainable communities, including cumulative impacts effects, and exposure; and recommend options to the General Assembly to address the issues raised by the Commission’s work. 

* Created a pilot program in Montgomery County, the Community Choice Aggregation Pilot Program, which will allow Montgomery County to aggregate electricity loads of residents, small businesses, and government, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing prices, or both. (HB 768)

And there is much more to do! We did not pass legislation addressing single-use plastics.
Both the plastic bag ban (HB 314/SB 223 ) and my recycling task force bill (HB 807) got stuck in the Senate, and my single use plastic bill (HB 69) did not make it out of committee in the House. Nor were we able to pass the Climate Solutions Now Act (HB 583/SB 414), a comprehensive environmental bill.