Bill aims to prepare Maryland for future weather emergencies

State Sen. Jim Rosapepe will introduce a bill this week aimed at making Maryland better prepared to deal with severe weather emergencies such as the twin snow storms last month that dumped more than four feet of snow on the region.

The Snowstorm Preparedness Bill would require the Maryland Commission on Climate Change, along with the state Department of Transportation and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, to report to state lawmakers and Gov. Martin O'Malley on the costs of the massive storms. It also requires the state agencies to make recommendations on better equipping the state to deal with future weather emergencies related to global warming. The two snowstorms that struck Maryland within a week crippled the state for days, closing schools and businesses, snarling mass transit and causing massive traffic tie-ups.

"The reality is these were two huge snowstorms and the region wasn't prepared," Rosapepe, a Democrat representing Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties, said in a telephone interview.

Rosapepe's bill, for which he is in the process of lining up co-sponsors, also asks O'Malley to ask the White House and Maryland's congressional delegation to prepare the state for severe weather events through expanded federal cap and trade legislation.

Rosapepe will discuss the bill at a news conference Tuesday in Annapolis, where he will be joined by Joseph Romm, a senior fellow and climate change expert at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C.