POLICY WATCH 2022
MCEC staff tracks legislation pertaining to clean energy, introduced during the Legislative Session of the Maryland General Assembly.
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TRACKED LEGISLATION
Synopsis: Establishing the Sustainable Maryland Program Fund as a special, non-lapsing fund to expand and enhance Sustainable Maryland's promotion and support of communities in Maryland in the effort to realize environmental, economic, and social sustainability; authorizing the Fund to be used for training and education, outreach and engagement, and developing and expanding the Sustainable Maryland Program; requiring the Governor, in Fiscal Year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter, to provide an appropriation of $750,000 to the Fund; etc.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (Senate & House)
Synopsis: Allowing a credit against the State income tax for certain costs, paid or incurred after July 1, 2022, by an owner of certain residential property for certain energy efficiency upgrades; requiring the owner to obtain a tax credit certificate from the Maryland Energy Administration; and prohibiting a taxpayer from claiming the tax credit for a taxable year during which the Governor declares a state of emergency.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (Senate & House)
Synopsis: Requiring the Maryland Transit Administration to provide certain safety and workforce development training for its operations training workforce and its maintenance workforce; requiring the Administration's annual report on the implementation of the conversion of the State's transit bus fleet to zero-emission buses to include a plan that ensures certain employee protections and a certification that the Administration is adhering to the plan; etc.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (Senate & House)
Synopsis: Requiring the Department of the Environment to create and maintain a database of supplemental environmental projects that the Department may consider for implementation as part of a settlement of an enforcement action; and requiring the Department to prioritize the selection of a supplemental environmental project located in the same geographic area as the alleged violation and to ensure that the scope and cost of a chosen project are sufficient to allow the Department and the alleged violator to reach a settlement.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (Senate)
View Status Details: SB0090
Synopsis: Increasing the maximum generating capacity of a community solar energy generating system from 2 megawatts to 5 megawatts.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (Senate)
View Status Details: SB0110
Synopsis: Establishing a certain pollution fee to be charged by the Department of the Environment and collected by the Comptroller on certain new motor vehicles sold or registered in the State based on certain pollution ratings; exempting certain motor vehicles from the fee; and requiring the fee to be deposited in the Maryland Strategic Energy Investment Fund and used for certain purposes.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (Senate & House)
Synopsis: Authorizing the Public Service Commission to extend rate suspension proceedings for up to an additional 120 days if the filing is for an alternative form of ratemaking for an electric company, a gas company, an electric and gas company, or a telephone company.
Dates Introduced: Pre-Filed (Senate) & 1-13-2022 (House)
Synopsis: Requiring the State to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through various measures, including altering statewide greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirements so that after 2040 statewide greenhouse gas emissions are net negative; requiring the Department of the Environment to adopt a plan for the reduction of statewide greenhouse gas emissions by December 31, 2022; establishing a Climate Crisis Council to develop a plan to meet the reduction targets set out in the Act; and establishing a greenhouse gas pollution fee on certain fuels.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (Senate & House)
Synopsis: Prohibiting a person from stopping, standing, or parking a vehicle that is not a plug-in electric drive vehicle in a parking space that is designated by certain signage for the use of plug-in electric drive vehicles; requiring that a parking space for the use of plug-in electric drive vehicles be counted as part of the overall number of parking spaces for certain purposes; authorizing the towing or removal of certain vehicles; establishing a civil penalty of $50 for a violation of the Act; etc.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (Senate)
View Status Details: SB0146
Synopsis: Extending to 30 years the maximum duration of an energy performance contract by a unit of State government.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (Senate)
View Status Details: SB0179
Synopsis: Increasing, from $750,000 to $1,000,000, the total amount of tax credit certificates that the Maryland Energy Administration may issue in a taxable year for the costs of installing an energy storage system; authorizing, under certain circumstances, a taxpayer to claim a refund of the credit; and extending, from December 31, 2022, to December 31, 2024, the date by which an energy storage system is required to be installed for purposes of eligibility for the credit.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (Senate)
View Status Details: SB0215
Synopsis: Establishing the Resiliency Hub Grant Program in the Maryland Energy Administration; requiring the Administration to establish certain procedures and criteria for the Program; establishing the Resiliency Hub Grant Program Fund as a special, non-lapsing fund; requiring interest earnings of the Resiliency Hub Grant Program Fund to be credited to the Resiliency Hub Grant Program Fund; requiring that certain fines and penalties be credited to the Resiliency Hub Grant Program Fund rather than the General Fund of the State; etc.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (House) / Cross-Filed (Senate)
Synopsis: Altering the date, from September 1 to November 1 of each year, by which the Public Service Commission must submit a report on the status of a certain net metering program; and repealing a reporting requirement on customer education about competitive electricity supply.
Date Introduced: Jan 14
View Status Details: SB0257
Synopsis: Allowing certain persons to claim a credit against the State income tax for certain costs incurred during the taxable year to purchase and install certain indoor air quality equipment in a certain home, rental dwelling unit, or commercial building; requiring the Comptroller, in consultation with the Maryland Energy Administration, to publish on the Comptroller's website a list of approved indoor air quality equipment on or before September 30 each year; etc.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (House) / Cross-Filed (Senate)
Synopsis: Requiring the Department of Human Services to authorize benefits under the electric universal service program for an electric customer who does not meet the eligibility requirements for the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program; etc.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (House) / Cross-Filed (Senate)
Synopsis: Requiring the Department of the Environment to establish and administer a statewide green business certification program to recognize businesses operating in a manner that reduces their environmental footprint and provide consumers with information on how to identify those businesses; and requiring the Department to update and enhance the statewide green business certification program in consultation with the Montgomery County Green Business Certification Program.
Date Introduced: Jan 20
View Status Details: SB0308
Synopsis: Requiring an electric company to contract for renewable energy credits and electricity generated from certain Tier 1 renewable sources to meet a portion of the renewable energy portfolio standard for the electric company starting in 2023; authorizing an electric company to receive annual remuneration for contracts; authorizing an electric company to account for the purchase of contracts as a regulatory asset, but prohibiting the collection of an additional return on the regulatory asset; etc.
Date Introduced: Jan 20
View Status Details: SB0334
Synopsis: Altering the definition of "Tier 1 renewable source" for purposes of excluding energy derived from qualifying biomass, methane from the anaerobic decomposition of organic materials, certain fuel cells, poultry litter-to-energy, waste-to-energy, refuse-derived fuel, and thermal energy from a thermal biomass system from being eligible for inclusion in the renewable energy portfolio standard.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (House)
View Status Details: HB0011
Synopsis: Requiring the Department of General Services to establish and periodically update standards for State buildings to conserve energy and minimize adverse impacts on birds; requiring the Maryland Green Building Council to include the standards in any requirements that the Council establishes for participation in a higher-performance building program in the State; and defining "State building".
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (House)
View Status Details: HB0043
Synopsis: Establishing the Distribution System Planning Workgroup to study issues related to energy distribution planning and implementation; requiring the Public Service Commission to adopt regulations on or before January 1, 2024, related to energy distribution planning and implementation; requiring the Commission and the Maryland Energy Administration to coordinate efforts with utilities to apply for certain federal funds; and establishing labor standards for contractors and subcontractors participating in certain projects.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (House)
View Status Details: HB0088
Synopsis: Requiring the State to ensure that a certain minimum percentage of passenger cars and other light-duty vehicles purchased for the State vehicle fleet in certain fiscal years are zero-emission vehicles, subject to the availability of funding; and requiring the Department of General Services to ensure the development of certain charging infrastructure.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (House)
View Status Details: HB0094
Synopsis: Requiring the Department of Housing and Community Development to procure or provide for electricity customers energy efficiency and conservation programs and services designed to achieve an annual incremental gross energy savings of at least 0.4% starting in 2023; requiring the Department to develop a plan to coordinate and leverage funding sources to support certain energy efficiency and other home upgrades and a plan to provide energy efficiency retrofits to all low-income households by 2030; etc.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (House)
View Status Details: HB0108
Synopsis: Prohibiting a person from stopping, standing, or parking a vehicle that is not a plug-in electric drive vehicle plugged into charging equipment in a parking space that is designated for the use of plug-in electric drive vehicles; establishing certain standards for signage designating reserved parking for certain plug-in electric drive vehicles; requiring that a parking space that is for the use of plug-in electric drive vehicles be counted as part of the overall number of parking spaces for purposes of complying with certain laws; etc.
Date Introduced: Pre-Filed (House)
View Status Details: HB0157
