Our Bay: Staving off budget cuts

Environmental activists often have high hopes for the annual 90-day General Assembly session.

But this year - with no spare state money and elections looming - environmental advocacy groups are scaling back their wish lists for the current session, which began on Wednesday.

They said they still think they can pass meaningful bills to help theenvironment. But they aren't expecting a windfall of money to start new programs - in fact, they expect to be fending off budget cuts.

"It's going to be a challenge," said Tommy Landers, a policy advocate for the group Environment Maryland.

But he said he thinks that when dollars are scarce, it's perhaps the best time to look at how the state spends its money.

Kim Coble from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation said her group will be keeping a sharp eye on budget negotiations, trying to make sure that environmental programs don't get cut too badly.

She acknowledged it's often difficult when the environment is pitted against other worthy programs, such as social services or public safety.

Coble said the old adage of "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" rings true in Annapolis.

"The bare minimum we need to do is make sure the environment is part of the equation," Coble said. "If there's no discussion and no focus on the needs, then we're easily going to lose ground. We feel it's important to remind legislators of the importance of a sustained investment in environmental protection."

Coble said the environment already has taken a hit during the budget cuts that have been made since the end of the 2009 General Assembly session.

Complicating the outlook for environmental bills is the fact that all 188 senator and delegate seats - as well as the governor's office - will be up for grabs during the state election this fall.

Election years, especially in tough fiscal times, are not knownfor featuring new spending or significant policy discussions.

There's "no stomach" for new taxes or fees in an election year, said Michael Cain, director of the Center for the Study of Democracy at St. Mary's College of Maryland.

He said environmentalists are wise to scale back their requests.

"There's no money in Annapolis," he said. "There's certainly no money for new programs. If you look at what's been going on within the state in terms of monitoring the bay, initiatives on the bay, there's simply not enough money to go around, given the health of the bay."

That said, there still will likely be a raft of minor and modest environmental bills among the thousands discussed in Annapolis. Here's a look at some environmental issues that might draw attention.