Maryland League of Conservation Voters
Maryland LCV is a state-wide, nonpartisan organization that uses political action and education to protect our air, land, water, and communities. Maryland LCV endorses and elects pro-conservation candidates and holds elected officials accountable through legislative scorecards and advocacy.
A Note From The Executive Director
Executive Director
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Climate and Energy Policy | B+ |
| Environmental Justice | B |
| Transportation | A |
| Land & Water Protection | A |
CLIMATE AND ENERGY POLICY
Maryland continued its strides in climate and energy policy with several pivotal bills addressing sustainable buildings, offshore wind, and community solar. These efforts bolster Maryland’s ambition to reduce emissions by 60% by 2031. This target aligns with global objectives defined by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
| House | Senate | General Assembly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sustainable Buildings | Passed | Passed | Passed |
| Offshore Wind | Passed | Passed | Passed |
| Community Solar | Passed | Passed | Passed |
| EmPOWER | Passed | Failed | Failed |
| LMI Energy Efficiency | Passed | Passed | Passed |
Sustainable Buildings: HB6 (Hill)/SB92 (Lam)
This environmental community priority bill requires the Maryland Department of General Services to establish standards for state buildings (and those buildings with 51% or more state funding) based on LEED Innovation Credit for Bird Collision Deterrence to reduce the amount of energy-inefficient and bird dangerous glass. The building sector represents the second largest contributor to our state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Improving energy efficiency in buildings is essential to reaching our state’s carbon emissions reduction goals. This bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Moore.
LMI Energy Efficiency: HB169 (Charkoudian)/SB144 (Feldman)
This environmental priority bill targets improved living conditions for low- and middle-income residents who are paying 550% more as a portion of income for energy than the average Marylander due to broken electrical systems. This bill commits to a 1% yearly energy efficiency enhancement for these households. It also augments MEEHA, and LIEEP programs, optimizing federal contributions to the state. It also promotes energy audits and funds pivotal efficiency upgrades in low-income residences. This bill passed both chambers for the second year in a row, and after a 2022 veto was signed into law by Governor Moore.
Offshore Wind: HB793 (Charkoudian)/SB781 (Hester)
This Maryland LCV priority bill sets a new target for Maryland’s offshore wind production, increasing from 2GW of energy to 8.5GW by 2031. The bill also sets a model of state energy procurement to protect against ratepayer impact. Beyond the health benefits of replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy, this bill will also produce more family-sustaining jobs through new offshore wind projects and transmission investments, which creates the opportunity to build generational wealth in communities who have been historically excluded from job, housing, and wealth opportunities. This bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Moore.
EmPOWER: HB1035 (Wilson/Qi)/ SB905 (Feldman/Lewis Young)
This environmental community priority bill would have shifted the focus of the current EmPOWER program from electricity savings to greenhouse gas reductions. It would have ensured that more low-income Marylanders are able to access state and federal energy efficiency incentives to move off of fossil fuel appliances. Energy efficiency reduces utility bills and is one of the most cost effective ways to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Enabling fuel switching under the EmPOWER Maryland program is a critical step as the state works to shift away from using fossil fuels in our homes and buildings to meet our ambitious climate emission reduction goals. This bill passed the House, but failed to to receive a vote in the Senate Committee on the last day of the Session. We expect a similar bill to return in 2024.
Community Solar: HB908 (Clippinger)/SB613 (Brooks)
This bill, a priority for Maryland LCV and the environmental community, makes the community solar program permanent with improvements. Adding the option for ‘consolidated billing’ simplifies the system for consumers and allows Marylanders using energy assistance to participate in the cost savings of community solar subscriptions. It also ensures that every community solar project reserves 40% of its created energy for low- and moderate income households and those in overburdened and underserved communities. The bill mandates an at least 10% discount on energy production costs for community solar subscribers. This bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Moore.
Maryland has begun taking historic steps to ensure that our commitment to climate justice is actionable. Newly passed legislation prioritizes equity in transportation, channels additional resources towards greenspaces such as parks and community gardens and improves election processing in Maryland. While these strides reflect the General Assembly’s commitment to climate justice, the failure to pass the Climate, Labor, and Environmental Equity Act underscores how much more work there is to be done.
| House | Senate | General Assembly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Climate, Labor, and Environmental Equity | Failed | Failed | Failed |
| Election Processing | Passed | Passed | Passed |
| Transit Equity | Passed | Passed | Passed |
| Greenspace Equity | Passed | Passed | Passed |
Climate, Labor, and Environmental Equity: HB0840 (Boyce)/SB743 (Jackson)
This bill aimed to empower the Maryland Department of Environment to rigorously evaluate the health and environmental effects of projects on marginalized communities, prioritizing them for public protection. It proposed heightened scrutiny for projects in overburdened areas, enhanced state agency reporting on environmental justice, and expanded public notice opportunities. While the bill received a vote in the House Environment and Transportation Committee, it didn’t progress further and it saw no action in the Senate. We expect similar legislation to return in 2024.
Greenspace Equity: HB503 (Stein)/SB923 (Rosapepe)
“Greenspace Equity Programs” will provide annual state funding to support projects that would increase and enhance community greenspace, such as parks and gardens, in Maryland’s overburdened and underserved communities. Preserving, creating, and enhancing public community greenspaces improves public health and livability for many communities across the state. This bill directs resources to overburdened and underserved communities throughout the state.
This bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Moore.
Election Processing: HB535 (Feldmark)/SB379 (Kagan)
This legislation improves our mail-in voting process by altering canvassing and potentially “curing” any correctable issues on ballots such as missing signatures. In 2022, roughly 2,500 mail-in ballots were rejected out of the more than 640,000 mail-in ballots cast. It is important that we take necessary measures to support our state and local election boards in the secure administration of our elections.
This bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Moore.
Comprehensive Flood Management: HB892 (Ivey)/SB813 (Washington)
This bill’s aim was to empower the Maryland Department of Environment to rigorously evaluate the health and environmental effects of projects on marginalized communities. It would have prioritized these communities for more public protection. The bill outlined heightened scrutiny for projects in overburdened areas, required state agency reporting on environmental justice, and would have expanded public notice opportunities.
While the bill received a vote in the House Environment and Transportation Committee, it didn’t progress further, with no actions in the Senate. We expect similar legislation to return in 2024.
Transit Equity: HB9 (Ruth)/SB19 (Carter)
The Transportation Equity Act puts equity as a primary objective in the Maryland Transportation Plan. This bill holds the Maryland Department of Transportation responsible for annually reporting data on racial disparities and impact on people with disabilities in their transportation plans. This bill also requires equity analysis before the Maryland Transit Administration can make major service changes or cancel or reduce capital expansion projects.
This bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Moore.
TRANSPORTATION
This year marked an important milestone for Maryland’s commitment to zero emissions transportation. Both the Clean Trucks Act and the Energy and Transportation Act became law, a testament to the state’s stance on curbing transportation emissions. Concurrently, the Energy and Transportation Act provides incentives for the purchase of electric trucks and charging stations. Together, these laws will protect both Maryland’s environment and its residents. Progress in curbing emissions from cars and trucks and improving public transportation is critical to meeting our carbon emission reduction goals, since the transportation sector remains the single greatest contributor to our state’s greenhouse gasses.
| House | Senate | General Assembly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clean Trucks Act | Passed | Passed | Passed |
| Energy and Transportation Act | Passed | Passed | Passed |
Clean Trucks Act: HB230 (Love)/SB224 (Augustine)
This Maryland LCV priority bill mandates the Maryland Department of the Environment to adopt the Advanced Clean Truck Rule. This rule requires vehicle manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of new zero-emission trucks and school buses through 2035. Trucks and other large vehicles account for 9% of vehicles on the road but contribute 21% of carbon pollution and 48% of particulate matter pollution (PM2.5) emitted by the entire transportation sector in Maryland. In Maryland, more than 650,000 students ride in diesel school buses, which contributes to the disproportionate asthma rates among lower-income children, and those living near major roadways. The transportation sector is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Maryland, and diesel bus emissions contribute to this pollution. Converting the fleet of trucks and school buses to clean electric vehicles aids in reaching the state goals of carbon emission reductions. This bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Moore.
Energy and Transportation Act: HB550 (Speaker)/SB548 (President)
Medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses make up 9% of state vehicles but contribute 21% of climate change emissions from all on-road vehicles in the state. This disproportionately burdens those living near major roadways with the negative health impacts associated with air pollution. This bill supports the transition to zero-emission vehicles mandated in the Clean Trucks Act (HB230/SB224) by providing state incentives for the sale and purchase of medium-and heavy-duty electric trucks and charging stations. These economic incentives will help to ensure effective implementation of the Clean Trucks Act. This was an administration sponsored bill, which passed and was signed into law by Governor Moore.
Maryland made significant strides in fortifying its land and water conservation efforts during this year’s legislative session, protecting and increasing state forest cover, improving access to greenspace and open space protections, as well as beginning to address pervasive toxic pollutants. In addition to supporting improved water quality and diverse, robust ecosystems, forests and greenspace provide important public health benefits, as well as carbon sequestration benefits that contribute to our climate goals.
| House | Senate | General Assembly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Zombie Permits” | Passed | Passed | Passed |
| Conservation Finance | Passed | Passed | Passed |
| Stop PFAS | Passed | Passed | Passed |
| Forest Banking | No Vote | No Vote | No Vote |
| Environmental Human Rights | No Vote | No Vote | No Vote |
Maryland The Beautiful: HB631 (Stein)/SB470 (Elfreth)
This environmental community priority bill follows President Biden’s Executive Order that set a new national goal of 30% of U.S. lands permanently preserved by 2030. This bill goes a step further to set a conservation goal of 40% of Maryland lands permanently protected by 2040. This bill will create a rapid-response revolving loan fund program to allow land trusts to move quickly on conservation opportunities, increase the capacity of partner land trusts to assist the state in meeting the goal, and ensure that the lands are protected in perpetuity.
This bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Moore.
Forest Conservation Act: HB723 (Love)/SB526 (Elfreth)
This Maryland LCV priority bill sets new, stronger statewide forest cover and tree canopy goals to move Maryland from a standard of “no forest loss” to actual forest gain. The bill updates the current Forest Conservation Act to give counties and local governments flexibility to design strategies that meet both their local development priorities, as well as the state goals for forest retention and growth. It simultaneously gives credit for preservation of priority forests in urban and suburban communities that perform important community functions like heat mitigation, animal habitat, and stormwater remediation. The success of this bill caps a seven-year effort to improve and update the Forest Conservation Act. This bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Moore.
PFAS in Pesticides: HB319 (Stein)/SB158 (Hettleman)
This bill requires the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) to study the use of PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in pesticides in Maryland. MDA must then report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by November 2023. PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because they build up in the environment and in the bodies of people and animals, contributing to negative health effects. This bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Moore.
Senate Green Champions
- Malcolm Augustine
(District 47) - Ben Brooks
(District 10) - Sarah Elfreth
(District 30) - Katie Fry Hester
(District 9) - Clarence K. Lam
(District 12) - Karen Lewis Young
(District 3) - Jim Rosapepe
(District 21)
House Green Champions
- Lorig Charkoudian
(District 20) - Luke Clippinger
(District 46) - Terri Hill
(District 12A) - Sara Love
(District 16) - Lily Qi
(District 15)