Greetings all,
As legislative session charges forward, some bills are advancing, some stalling, and others, sadly, are being voted down or withdrawn. We wanted to update you on one of our priority bills, the Maryland Coal Community Transition Act.
We are very disappointed to report that the Coal Community Transition Act (HB66) came up yesterday for a committee vote with very little public notice. Supportive committee members sought to put off a vote to allow for discussions about the bill to continue and to find solutions, but those efforts were dismissed. With a negative result clearly in the works, the bill sponsor, Delegate Ben Brooks Sr. from Baltimore County, decided to withdraw the bill rather than have the bill voted down, thus ending the bill’s chances for passage this session.
This bipartisan bill had so much momentum behind it. The Sierra Club, other environmental groups, labor and racial and social justice groups, and local leaders all worked really hard to develop a meaningful, comprehensive approach to the coal transition that is happening now. The United Nations, President Biden, Governor Hogan, and the Maryland Commission on Climate Change all have called for a more managed transition off coal as an essential part of acting to protect the climate. Even the coal plant owners removed their opposition, and Maryland’s largest coal plant ownersupported the legislation this year! And we know each and every one of you were genuine and dedicated to pushing a more just transition off coal. Our legislative efforts included out-reach to the remaining labor groups in opposition to the effort, and we asked for their suggestions for changes to the bill to better respond to their needs.
This was an unprecedented call for action on a specific, dedicated move away from coal that supports workers and communities. But, at least for now with this bill as the vehicle, that work is no longer possible. That really hurts. We’re upset. You should be upset, too.
While this loss is frustrating, it does not take away the huge progress we made on this campaign. In the last 12 months, 5 of the 6 coal plants in Maryland announced plans to stop burning coal, and several made commitments to expand solar and battery storage [link to past update]. This huge progress is the result of the years of organizing that we’ve done, and this legislation, even though it didn’t pass, offered the pressure needed to get these commitments.
The commitments to stop burning coal are only half the work. The legislation would have set up a program to facilitate a more just-transition for workers and communities off coal. We remain committed to this work, but after so much pushback, we question whether state legislation is the best vehicle and are excited to explore other strategies with all of you.
We want to thank the hundreds of local leaders who worked on this and the thousands of you that called for action, especially those whose communities continue to be harmed by coal pollution. We are grateful to our bill sponsors and champions, including Senators West, Feldman, and Chairman Pinsky, Delegate Brooks and Chairman Barve, and many others who gave their support and worked for this bill. Thanks to the NAACP for shining a spotlight on the environmental injustice of coal pollution, and to 1199 SEIU for reminding folks that healthcare workers see the impacts of coal pollution every day at work, and many at home as well. Thanks to Interfaith Power and Light and our other faith partners who reminded legislators that this is not just an environmental issue, that protecting the earth is a matter of faith and justice. Thanks to Charles County Commissioner President Reuben Collins for calling on the General Assembly to act to better support the transition that will affect his community. Thanks to MD LCV, CCAN, the MD Legislative Coalition, youth climate action leaders, and countless other environmental and community partners who worked with us on this bill. And many, many thanks to the individuals across the state who wrote and zoomed with their legislators to urge support for a just transition off of coal.
We believe it is critical to move off coal as quickly as possible, and to do so in a just way. We all worked hard to engage workers and labor leaders to create a shared vision, and we made some notable progress. We were thrilled to partner with 1199SEIU. And because of the progress we made as a movement on this issue, LiUNA, which had serious objections last year, raised no opposition this year. However, despite many efforts, the Maryland State Conference of the AFL-CIO and several IBEW Locals, which represent impacted workers, remained steadfast in opposition despite outreach efforts seeking feedback on how to make the just transition portions of the bill more workable for their interests and members. With all of your support we ran an incredible campaign and won over many legislators, but in the end the opposition from these groups was enough to derail our efforts.
We will keep pushing for good climate, clean energy, social justice, and environmental legislation. There are good bills moving forward - like Delegate Lorig Charkoudian and Senator Ben Kramer’s bill to require the Public Service Commission to consider climate change and fair labor standards in their decision making - but for now we’ll need to look elsewhere for leadership on coal transition.
Thanks again to everyone, and be good to each other.
Sincerely,
David Smedick
Senior Campaign Representative
Sierra Club Beyond Coal and Dirty Fuels Campaigns
