Latest news with #EnergyandtheEnvironmentCommittee
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Speaker's bill would make social equity part of state government, literally
House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County), center, testifies March 26 before the Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee on her bill to create the Department of Social and Economic Mobility. Joining Jones is her Chief of Staff Matt Jackson, left, and Michele Lambert, director of legislative services in the speaker's office. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) As the Trump administration continues its push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs wherever they are found, Maryland lawmakers are advancing a bill that creates a Cabinet-level department to oversee social equity programs in the state. The name of proposed agency has changed since it was first introduced by House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County), from the Department of Social Equity to the Department of Social and Economic Mobility. But the mission remains the same: supporting social equity programs throughout state government and collecting scattered agencies that assist small and disadvantaged businesses under one roof. House Bill 1253 passed the House on a 101-37 vote on March 17 and was heard Wednesday by the Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee. 'We know we are stronger when everyone has the same access to the same opportunities, and when everyone has a seat at the table,' Jones said in testimony befoer the committee Wednesday. 'We have programs that require minority and small business contracting. We support supplier diversity and state procurement,' Jones said. 'Unfortunately, right now, these programs are fractured across our state government. They're isolated in different agencies and often work independently of each other.' The department would combine three existing offices focused on social equity programming: the Governor's Office of Small, Minority, and Women-Owned Business Affairs (GOSBA); the Office of Social Equity in the Maryland Cannabis Administration; and the Office of Minority Business Enterprises in the state Department of Transportation. Besides overseeing programs that support small and disadvantaged businesses, the new department would be responsible for proposing new and innovative approaches to social equity programs, monitoring trends in social equity programs and policies across the nation and adopting standards for various agencies and other units within the executive branch to promote social equity. The proposal comes at President Donald Trump had ordered the elimination of DEI programs at the federal level and has threatened to withhold federal funding to states that don't comply to eliminate initiatives focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. At a February gathering of governors at the White House, Trump challenged Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) over her state's policy allowing transgender girls from playing girls' sports. But Mills held firm, telling Trump, 'We're going to follow the law sir. We'll see you in court.' This month, the federal government started to investigate Maine and found it was in violation of the federal civil rights rule that bans sex-based discrimination in schools. On the day HB 1253 passed the House, Del. Lauren Arikan (R-Harford) said Maryland could be next in line for federal retribution. 'We have some of the worst policies in the nation, maybe second only to California … because of our woke policies,' Arikan said. 'I think a lot of our behavior is being watched, and we're really close to D.C. We're an easy target to keep an eye on because we're right next door.' But Del. Vanessa Atterbeary (D-Howard) said Wednesday that Maryland should not back down in the face of federal threats, but should continue to implement and support diverse programs and initiatives, especially about people of color. Atterbeary is chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, which reviews education policies. 'We heard the message loud and clear, Mr. President, you don't care for us. You don't like us. You don't want us around,' Atterbeary said. 'You want no mention of us in any photo and any history. 'He's [Trump] trying to erase history and our culture, which is our culture. America's culture. So, I think it's really important in Maryland that we preserve that,' she said. Most of the funding and personnel for the new department would be shifted from existing agencies and accounts, including the Transportation Trust Fund and cannabis sales and use taxes. According to the fiscal note for HB 1253, $2.3 million would be needed for next fiscal year to for nine new positions such as a secretary, principal counsel and support personnel for human resources and finance, among others.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Blueprint education plan inches forward in Senate, confrontation with House looms
Educators were called to anxwer question so the Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee as it debated an education reform bill. From right, they are Joy Schaefer, Alex Reese, Elise Brown, Mike Thomas and Mary Pat Fannon. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) The state's sweeping education reform bill took another painstaking step forward Tuesday, when a second Senate committee give it preliminary OK and rejected a separate House version. But the 6-2 vote by the Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee merely sends the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act back to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, which needs to agree to the latest changes before sending the bill to the full Senate. From there, the bill has to go back to the House, which will likely reject the Senate plan before convening a conference committee to iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. All with less than two weeks left in the legislative session. Besides approving Senate Bill 429 Tuesday, the committee also known as Triple-E voted to make the House version conform to the Senate version, rejecting several cuts on collaborative time and per pupil funding first proposed by Gov. Wes Moore (D). Sen. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore City) abstained because 'there's still more to work do on such an important bill,' she said after the committee meeting that lasted more than two hours. One major difference the committee approved versus the House version deals with community schools, those schools where at least 75% of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. According to the state Department of Education, about half of the state's schools have that community school designation. The committee agreed with the governor's proposal to require that all 24 school systems develop countywide Blueprint implementation plans focused strictly on community schools. The House struck that proposal, noting that local school officials already have to submit plans to the state Department of Education and the Accountability and Implementation Board, as part of the overall Blueprint for Maryland's Future 10-year reform plan. The board began to approve updated Blueprint plans in October. Tuesday's discussion became a bit animated when it came to instructional coaches. State Department of Education officials said the state currently has 803 instructional coaches, experienced educators who help administrators, teachers and other 'education professionals' learn how to prepare lesson plans, assess student data and other duties. The goal is to hire up to 200 additional coaches in a four-year period. Elise Brown, assistant state superintendent for instructional programs and services, said about 63% of the current coaches work in only five school systems. 'We do not see an equal distribution,' she said. Alex Reese, chief of staff at the department who attended the meeting to represent State Superintendent Carey Wright, said the average ratio of teachers to coaches is 79 to 1. Reese said three school systems – one in Western Maryland, one on the Eastern Shore and another in Southern Maryland – have no instructional coaches. 'Best practice would be for a coach to coach a maximum of 12 teachers,' he said. Sen. Katie Fry Hester (D-Howard and Montgomery) asked what's the annual salary for an instructional coach. Reese said the base salary is about $125,000. Although Fry Hester supports instructional coaches, she said some of that money to seek coaches could be used to hire additional personnel in cybersecurity and other technology for schools. 'We have one person in the entire state of Maryland, at the state level, looking out for cybersecurity for the local schools,' said Fry Hester. But she agreed to withhold an amendment to add additional personnel toward cyber security after committee chair Sen. Brian Feldman (D-Montgomery) said more information was needed. 'We're immediately going to lose 200 teachers,' Fry Hester said. 'We're already short on teachers.'
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Second Senate panel needs more time to assess Blueprint measure
Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore) summarizes proposed amendments to the Blueprint for Maryland's Future during Monday's hearing of the Education, Energy and the Environment Committee. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) The clock may be ticking on a plan to reform Maryland's sweeping education reform plan, but the Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee will not be rushed. The so-called 'Triple E' committee held a nearly two-hour work session Monday when it entertained a series of amendments on policy portions of the 'Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act,' those dealing with various state and local school system initiatives and teacher programs. Sen. Brian Feldman (D-Montgomery), chair of the committee, said the goal is to possibly vote on the Senate version of the bill Tuesday, but the committee must first weigh several amendments that were presented Monday. The deliberation comes after the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Friday voted on the financial elements of the bill in a meeting that lasted about a half hour. Amendments put forward Monday include a 17-page proposal offered by Sen. Karen Lewis Young (D-Frederick), a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee, whose amendment mirrored a Blueprint bill she sponsored earlier this year. That bill was heard by Triple E but was not voted on as a standalone measure. Part of it comes from a proposal released in December by the Public School Superintendents' Association of Maryland. Senate panel's vote on Blueprint bill straddles House, administration versions Another amendment offered Monday would include 3- and 4-year-old prekindergarten students who are diagnosed with a disability or who are 'from a home in which English is not the primary spoken language' among Tier 1 students, who receive core instruction. Another would clarify that an assistant principal or principal would not count as a teacher for purposes of the career ladder in the Blueprint. Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore), who serves on the committee, submitted another proposal, similar to Lewis Young's, to reduce pay bumps that teachers would receive for earning National Board Certifications, which have to be renewed every five years. The Blueprint law would give a teacher $8,000 for the first certification, another $7,000 for the second certification and $6,000 for a third. The amendment proposed Monday would cut those amounts to $4,000 for the first and second certifications and $3,000 on the third. Carozza offered two additional amendments: To allow school systems to request a waiver of the rule that requires all teachers start with a $60,000 salary as of July 1, 2026; and to establish a stakeholder work group to conduct a two-part assessment on Blueprint funding modifications and to analyze overall public school funding on items such as special education, transportation and employee benefits. 'My concern from the start was we need to pull in the local school superintendents, the boards of education, the counties. Because in the end, they have to implement this,' Carozza said after the committee meeting. 'We can't pass all these costs on to the counties and the local school systems.' The Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Education Act was proposed by Gov. Wes Moore to delay or reduce some of the expansions of school programs that were scheduled in the Blueprint, the state's 10-year, multibillion-dollar reform plan that is now in its third year. The Moore changes were made in the face of the state's projected $3 billion budget deficit for fiscal 2026, and the ongoing complaints from some local school boards that they needed more flexibility in how and how quickly the plan is implemented. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The House on March 11 adopted a version of the plan that rejected many of the governor's changes and hewed more closely to the original Blueprint plan, particularly its proposed delay in 'collaborative time' — giving teachers more time out of the classroom — and community schools, which are located in low-income neighborhoods. The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Friday agreed with some of the House version and some of the proposals laid out by the governor, insisting on community school funding but allowing for a delay in the start of collaborative time. Whatever the Senate passes, Feldman said it will likely have to go to a conference committee with House members, who has passed a slightly different version of the bill. All of that would have to be accomplished with less than two weeks left in the legislative session, which is scheduled to end on April 7.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Testimony heard for proposed power line project
ANNAPOLIS — Legislation that would strip protections from state wildlands to make way for new overhead transmission lines lacks adequate information to be passed, William R. Neil said. The Frostburg resident and former director of conservation at the New Jersey Audubon Society watched a livestream of hours of testimony on various issues before Senate Bill 399 made it to the floor at an Education, Energy and the Environment Committee hearing Tuesday. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike McKay, a Republican who represents Allegany and Garrett counties and a portion of Washington County, aims to exempt areas of Big Savage Mountain Wildland, Bear Pen Wildland and Dan's Mountain Wildland from their wildland designations for NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic to construct the line. Neil, who provided written testimony to oppose the bill, said the hearing failed to answer questions, including whether existing power lines could be upgraded rather than the bill's proposal to 'cut into new portions of valuable habitat (that) may violate federal regs based on how those lands were purchased.' On Wednesday, he said more information about the bill is needed. 'Don't pass this thing,' Neil said. 'Controversies' At Tuesday's hearing, McKay said NextEra proposes to build its MidAtlantic Resiliency Link from Pennsylvania to Virginia and cross through Allegany and Garrett counties. 'The transmission line is being developed because the regional grid operator, PJM, determined ... it is needed to secure a reliable electricity in the region,' he said. 'It will ensure that our hospitals, schools, homes will have electricity we need for the coming years.' McKay said over 40 years of operation, the project will generate more than $450 million in revenue for Allegany and Garrett counties. The bill provides 'as much transparency as possible in the early process as to avoid some of the controversies that have happened in similar projects downstate,' he said. A proposal known as the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, which aims to build overhead power lines across Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties, has received backlash from many state officials. McKay said NextEra 'has held more than 50 meetings with local stakeholders' about that proposal. 'NextEra has explained to me that one of the possible routes through the district would parallel the existing right of way for the FirstEnergy transmission line,' he said. 'This path makes very, very good sense to me because it would have the least impact to the homes, businesses, viewshed in the community,' McKay said. 'The (Public Service Commission) holds the authority to review and approve the transmission lines in Maryland,' McKay said. Lobbyist Rob Garagiola and three NextEra representatives echoed much of what McKay said. Endangered McKay's bill is cross-filed with House Bill 1270, sponsored by Del. Jim Hinebaugh (R-Garrett, Allegany), and set for a 1 p.m. March 6 hearing before the Economic Matters Committee. A fiscal and policy note for SB399 indicated that, according to the Department of Natural Resources, Big Savage Mountain Wildland, Bear Pen Wildland and Dan's Mountain Wildland 'collectively support two endangered bat species, the rare Appalachian cottontail rabbit, and 25 other known rare, threatened, or endangered species.' PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization for 13 states, including Maryland and the District of Columbia, 'approved a set of proposed projects in December 2023 to expand the region's transmission capacity, enhance the grid, and accommodate increasing electricity demand,' according the document. 'According to NextEra Energy, it has not selected a route yet for the project; however, it anticipates sharing potential routes for the transmission line on its website in spring 2025,' it stated. DNR advised that state wildlands are partially managed using federal grant monies received under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act. 'The bill may jeopardize a portion of the funding it receives annually under the act because it would permit the installation of overhead transmission lines on land that is currently part of existing state wildlands,' the document stated. The state, which acquired many of its wildlands using Pittman-Robertson funds, 'is subject to strict requirements on how such land must be used and maintained,' it stated. 'DNR is concerned that the installation of transmission lines at Big Savage Mountain, Bear Pen, and/or Dan's Mountain is a prohibited action under federal law and (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) regulations,' it stated. 'According to USFWS, Maryland received approximately $9.2 million in federal funding under the Pittman-Robertson Act in federal fiscal 2024.' Opposition According to the Education, Energy and the Environment Committee, six people including McKay signed up to speak in favor of SB399 at Tuesday's hearing, and 28 officially opposed the bill. Garrett County resident Steve Storck submitted detailed written testimony and spoke at Tuesday's hearing where he asked for the state's wildland preservation system statute and related Code of Maryland Regulations be upheld. Information including maps for the transmission line project is missing from SB399, he said. Maryland's wildland preservation laws intend to keep 'the most sensitive habitats in our state protected in perpetuity,' Storck said. 'COMAR (regulations) specifically prohibit the type of industrial-scale development in these wildlands.' If there's a critical need, a specific process details a path such projects should follow, he said. 'The governor can come to you with a proposal, but after public engagement,' Storck said. 'These 50 meetings that they're talking about have not occurred in Garrett County.' Conversations about the proposal should take place 'in our town halls with real details so our community can determine the best pathway forward before coming to Annapolis,' he said. Kurt Schwarz, on behalf of Maryland Ornithological Society, said the group 'strongly opposes SB399.' The three Maryland wildlands the bill proposes to exempt are 'virtually untouched by civilization and ecologically vulnerable to human interference,' he said. 'This bill sets a terrible precedent,' Schwarz said. 'If three wildlands can be open for development, so can the other 35 wildlands in Maryland.' Upper Potomac Riverkeeper Brent Walls also advocated for preservation of Maryland's wildlands. Under Maryland code, the purpose of the wildland system clearly preserves the areas 'in their natural state unimpaired for future generations,' he said. 'These lands are not simply parks and recreational areas,' Walls said. 'They're vital ecosystems.' On Wednesday, Frostburg resident and former state senator John Bambacus said he is opposed to SB399 for reasons including that farmers and landowners were not made aware of the proposed legislation and could be impacted by eminent domain. There's been no determination that the high-voltage power lines would serve interests of Marylanders, he said. Other forms of energy should be considered, Bambacus said. 'Senator McKay has been anything but transparent,' he said. 'I'm wondering who he is representing.'
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maryland bill seeks to stop storage of dredged material from Baltimore Harbor near overburdened communities
BALTIMORE — In the wake of public outcry about a storage option for dredged material from the Baltimore Harbor, an Anne Arundel County lawmaker is seeking to stop the construction of confined aquatic disposal cells near communities that have been overburdened by pollution. Republican Sen. Bryan Simonaire is the sole sponsor of the Environmental Justice in Confined Aquatic Disposal Act. The measure would prevent the Maryland Department of the Environment from processing or making recommendations to the Board of Public Works for applications to build confined aquatic disposal cells — underwater containment structures that store dredged material from the harbor's shipping channels in depressions at the bottom of a waterway — within 5 miles of overburdened residential communities, as well as preventing the board from approving such a project. 'I am completely supportive of our port; it's a driver of our economy, jobs. This bill has nothing to do with undermining what our port does and I appreciate their efforts,' Simonaire said at a Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee bill hearing this week. 'But I also appreciate communities, especially those who live in overburdened communities that have been the brunt of environmental pollution for years — for decades — and trying to protect them and come up with a balance, and that's what I think this legislation does.' Under state law, dredged material from the Baltimore Harbor must be confined and placed only in contained areas approved by MDE. According to the Maryland Port Administration, more than 1 million cubic yards of sediment are dredged from the harbor's shipping channels yearly. However, the agency does not have a definition for what confined means. At a bill hearing Tuesday, Simonaire said he asked Gov. Wes Moore's administration to define a confined area, but they preferred the flexibility of the existing language, he said. Confined aquatic disposal, also known as CAD, is a newer practice in the state. The first pilot program next to Baltimore's Masonville dredged material containment facility was completed in 2018 and has been deemed a success by state officials. However, the bill would not completely ban the use of CAD cells in Maryland. Casey Hunter, who testified on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Maryland, said the bill is a 'crucial step' toward addressing ongoing environmental injustices faced by those who live in overburdened communities. She said projects that pose risks to public health or safety have historically been placed in these communities, and residents often lack the resources to challenge siting. 'It's just a common-sense measure to ensure that the burden of risk for this type of project does not continue to fall on Maryland's already overburdened and underserved communities,' she said, urging a favorable report. Stoney Beach resident John Garofolo, a retired federal scientist who has raised concerns about the concept for over a year, said he understands the importance of shipping as the harbor expands. Still, the state must 'tread lightly' on the Patapsco River. 'The existing pollution has had significant impacts to our health, employment and businesses,' he said. 'The Patapsco is not a resource to be exploited, nor are its communities.' A lifelong Pasadena resident, Carl Treff, said the Patapsco 'is not Maryland Port Administration's landfill.' 'I cannot fathom in this era of Bay restoration, how mining and destroying the bottom of our river is a good idea,' he said. 'The MPA has yet to prove without a doubt that CAD is an environmentally safe alternative to land-based dredge storage.' Over the past few months, the port administration has been evaluating the use of CAD to manage dredged material as existing storage sites reach capacity. Last year, Anne Arundel County lawmakers proposed creating a task force to study the concept, its risks and its benefits during the legislative session. Their bills failed to advance, prompting MPA to convene its own group of state, federal and local officials to study the technical aspects, risks and benefits of using CAD. The group, known as the Bay Enhancement Working Group CAD Subcommittee, has held five meetings since September, with two more scheduled for February and March. While Sen. Mary Washington, a Democrat representing Baltimore City and Baltimore County, suggested reworking part of Simonaire's bill, she also asked whether parts of the state's environmental code should be reevaluated, noting that some portions had not been updated in more than 20 years. 'My personal opinion would be, let's keep it simple this year and pass it, and I would commit to work with you over the interim, to come up with working with the departments and revise this,' Simonaire said. 'Because I think it's complex as far as what should be there and what shouldn't be there, but I am certainly on board with working with you and would support that.' ---------
