The Maryland League of Conservation Voters (Maryland LCV) today released its 2025 Legislative Scorecard and biennial Governor’s Report Card, providing voters with a comprehensive assessment of how their elected officials performed on environmental issues during a challenging legislative session dominated by budget constraints and complex energy policy debates.

The dual reports offer an in-depth look at Maryland’s environmental leadership at both the legislative and executive levels, revealing defensive victories against harmful rollbacks alongside concerning gaps and missed opportunities in proactive environmental policy advancement.

Legislative Session Marked by Defense Over Offense

The 2025 Legislative Scorecard breaks from tradition by providing only chamber-wide assessments rather than including individual legislator scores, reflecting the unique challenges of a session where all of Maryland LCV’s priority bills stalled in committee without recorded votes. The complex omnibus nature of the Next Generation Energy Act further complicated individual scoring by bundling multiple environmental bills into a single vote. Given these procedural obstacles, chamber-wide grades more accurately reflect the story of the legislative session. The House earned grades ranging from B- in Climate & Energy to D in Environmental Justice, while the Senate scored similarly with a C in Climate & Energy and D in Environmental Justice. Both chambers received C+ grades for Land & Water protection efforts.

“The 2025 legislative session was unlike any in recent memory, dominated by a $3 billion budget deficit that forced painful choices across all sectors,” said Kim Coble, Executive Director of Maryland LCV. “While we successfully stopped harmful fast-tracking of gas plants and preserved critical funding despite budget challenges, the failure to advance any of our priority environmental justice, clean energy, or water protection bills represents a lack of environmental progress. Maryland’s environmental future depends on treating environmental protection as essential investment, not discretionary spending.”

The session’s most significant battle centered on the Next Generation Energy Act, which initially proposed fast-tracking fossil fuel plants by bypassing environmental review and community input. Through sustained advocacy, the final bill was significantly improved to restore public engagement requirements and include clean energy provisions, though Maryland LCV ultimately took a neutral position due to remaining concerns about allowing for new gas plant development.

Environmental Justice Concerns Mount

A particularly troubling finding in the Legislative Scorecard was the complete failure of environmental justice legislation to advance from committees, preventing legislators from taking public positions on policies affecting communities already overburdened by pollution.

“Communities most impacted by pollution continue to be left behind in Maryland’s policymaking process,” said Kim Coble, Executive Director.“When environmental justice bills such as the CHERISH Act don’t even get committee votes, it denies both communities and their representatives the opportunity to go on record about protecting public health in our most vulnerable neighborhoods. Through our Chispa program, we’ve seen firsthand how environmental policies can transform communities when they’re designed with equity at the center.”

Governor Moore Earns Mixed Grades in First Term Assessment

The Governor’s Report Card evaluates Governor Moore’s environmental performance across his first 2.5 years in office, revealing a leader who has laid important groundwork but needs to accelerate action to match the urgency of Maryland’s climate and environmental justice challenges.

Governor Moore received varied grades: B+ for Land & Water protection, B- for Transportation, C+ for Budget Priorities, C+ for Environmental Justice, C for Climate & Energy, and B for Leadership & Transparency. The report acknowledges significant accomplishments, including reaching Maryland’s 30% land conservation goal six years early and providing leadership as Chair of the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council.

However, the assessment also identifies critical missed opportunities, including vetoing key climate funding legislation and supporting policies that undermine climate goals, such as exempting data center backup generators from environmental review.

Climate Funding Crisis Threatens Maryland’s Goals

Both reports highlight a fundamental challenge: Maryland’s climate goals require approximately $1 billion in annual investment, but the 2025 budget treated environmental programs as discretionary rather than essential. The legislature took $315 million from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund and cut $25 million annually from Program Open Space for four years.

“The budget is where policy becomes reality, and the 2025 budget revealed a dangerous disconnect between Maryland’s climate commitments and funding priorities,” said Kim Coble, Executive Director . “Maryland’s Climate Pollution Reduction Plan could create 27,400 new jobs and save households up to $4,000 annually on energy costs, but without dedicated funding streams, these benefits remain aspirational. We need elected leaders who understand that environmental protection is economic development.”

Environmental Wins Demonstrate Advocacy Impact

Despite challenges, the reports highlight significant victories achieved through organized advocacy:

• Removed harmful provisions from energy legislation that would have fast-tracked gas plants without environmental review
• Corrected renewable energy standards by removing trash incineration from receiving clean energy subsidies after eight years of community-led advocacy
• Preserved critical funding of $100 million for clean energy projects at schools and state facilities
• Increased transparency by requiring utilities to publicly disclose votes at regional grid operator meetings
• Advanced balanced solar policy through the Renewable Energy Certainty Act, protecting 95% of priority preservation areas while enabling clean energy development

Economic Case for Environmental Leadership

Both reports emphasize that environmental protection and economic prosperity are inextricably linked. Maryland’s outdoor recreation economy supports over 80,000 jobs and generates more than $9 billion in consumer spending annually, while the Chesapeake Bay tourism economy contributes $3.2 billion in economic activity. A cleaner bay and improved habitat will contribute up to an additional $600 million annually to the state’s economy. Additionally, implementing the Climate Pollution Reduction Plan will deliver up to $1.2 billion in public health benefits by 2031.

Looking Ahead to 2026 Elections

As Maryland approaches the 2026 elections, both reports serve as accountability tools for voters to evaluate their representatives’ environmental records. “This scorecard demonstrates the power of organized advocacy,” Coble added. “When Marylanders speak up for clean energy and environmental protection, legislators listen. As we look toward 2026, we need voters to use these reports to demand that their representatives treat environmental protection as the essential investment in Maryland’s future that it is.”

The Governor’s Report Card concludes that while Governor Moore has made moderate progress and laid promising groundwork, Maryland needs “bold executive leadership, stronger collaboration, and urgent implementation to protect and restore Maryland’s environment” in his remaining time in office.