The Maryland General Assembly concluded a very productive 2023 legislative session on Monday. Three of our top five priority bills passed, and action on the other two bills laid a solid foundation for future progress. Many other excellent bills passed as well, and our Chapter and your support played a part. We submitted written testimony on over 150 bills and provided oral testimony and consultation on many of these.
Session Highlights
Clean Energy
We helped make the Community Solar Program permanent and more accessible for low- and moderate-income (LMI) households. This is a big win. Unfortunately, our efforts to reform the EmPOWER program to focus on greenhouse gas reduction fell short on the final day, but this issue is certain to be revisited next year. The General Assembly did pass a related bill to reform the EmPOWER program so that it will better serve LMI households. We also helped get bills across the finish line that will:
- Facilitate bringing 8,500 megawatts of clean offshore wind energy onto the grid in Maryland.
- Establish an energy storage program in the state, which will help support the transition to renewable electricity sources.
Transportation
The General Assembly passed a bill requiring Maryland to adopt the Advanced Clean Trucks Rule, a regulation we have been advocating with our coalition partners over the last two years. This rule requires manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of electric school buses, trucks, and delivery vans in Maryland starting in 2026. We also supported successful passage of bills that will: Require the Maryland Department of Transportation to make equity a core goal in transportation planning and perform transit equity analyses before making significant changes to public transit service. Fund equitable transit-oriented development projects.
Natural Places
We helped lead efforts to pass the Maryland the Beautiful Act, which sets goals of protecting 30 percent of Maryland’s lands from development by 2030 and 40 percent by 2040. In addition, we supported successful passage of the Greenspace Equity bill, which will promote natural places in underserved communities, and significant improvements to the Forest Conservation Act that will increase protections through stronger replanting ratios and expanded protections for priority forest. We also helped pass bills that will:
- Make 2,000 miles of utility rights-of-way much better habitat for pollinators.
- Make new state office buildings less hazardous to birds.
- Promote knowledge and availability of native plants for consumers, growers, and retailers.
Zero Waste
The Zero Waste Team developed two new bills that had strong hearings: a beverage container deposit program and mandated post-consumer recycled content in plastic containers. Together, the bills would increase the beverage container recycling rate to 90%, reduce beverage container litter by at least two-thirds, and increase the supply and demand for post-consumer recycled material, especially plastic. With the educational efforts made this year, both bills are in a strong position to make progress in 2024. Bills passed to:
- Require a study of an extended producer responsibility program aimed at reducing packaging materials.
- Double the area that farms may use to compost food scraps without a permit, to 10,000 square feet, thereby diverting food scraps from the waste stream and reducing methane emissions.
Unfortunately, time ran out moments before legislators could provide final approval of a bill that would establish a paint stewardship program requiring producers to take responsibility for the collection, recycling, and disposal of leftover house paint. And, like last year, a bill to establish a chain of custody for synthetic turf sports fields from installation to disposal (to deter dumping and promote proper disposal) passed the House but stalled in the Senate.
Elections and Cross-Cutting
We also supported bills to protect voter participation in elections, and a variety of cross-cutting bills to protect public health and the environment. Successful bills will facilitate mail-in voting and strengthen the environmental monitoring capacity of the Office of Attorney General.
Get Involved!
Our work on policy initiatives for the 2024 session will begin soon. While we had many successes, there are also important areas for making future progress. To find out how to get involved, view the list of our Chapter committees and issue teams, find one that interests you, and reach out to the contact.
Finally, a big thanks to all of you – legislators, issue teams, Lobby Night attendees, email and letter-writers, rally goers, and financial donors – for your support of the Maryland Sierra Club and the environment. We plan to have our legislative victory party on Sunday, May 7. Details to follow!
Very best,
Randy Lyon
Legislative Chair
Sierra Club Maryland Chapter