Current Actions

Transportation and Climate Alignment Act of 2025

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This bill would create accountability and transparency about projects that increase pollution and commuter costs by requiring the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) to measure the greenhouse gas emissions of all major capital transportation projects in the state’s six-year capital transportation budget and determine if the overall budget aligns with the state’s goals to cut climate pollution as required by the Climate Solutions Now Act.

The bill would also increase investments in public transit, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and sustainable land use by requiring MDOT to offset greenhouse gas emissions from highway expansion projects over $100 million by providing clean transportation alternatives to affected residents. In addition, MDOT must ensure the state’s transportation budget aligns with Maryland’s climate goals by investing in new projects that cut pollution. This includes public transit, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, development that reduces vehicle traffic, and solar projects on MDOT property. The bill would also require MDOT to prioritize these investments in overburdened and underserved communities.

Support the Maryland Data Privacy Act

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This bill would alter certain provisions of law to require a law enforcement agency or a unit of State or local government to deny access to certain databases, facilities, or buildings by certain individuals seeking access for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration law and would require the Attorney General to enforce certain provisions of the Act; and that a State employee that violates certain provisions of the Act is subject to certain discipline.

Support the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This bill would require the Attorney General to develop guidelines relating to immigration enforcement at sensitive locations; and requiring State agencies that operate at sensitive locations to adopt certain policies or provide notice of a decision not to adopt certain policies. (Sensitive locations are defined to include such things as: schools; libraries and units of the State government that operate sensitive locations)
While this bill has been amended to dramatically limit the definition of sensitive location - communities of faith, medical facilities and other non-government service agencies were stripped from the original language – it still provides added protections. Under the new law, public schools, libraries, and state government units must deny access to non-public areas to individuals seeking to enforce federal immigration law, unless they present a valid court warrant or face exigent circumstances. By October 1, 2025, these entities must implement policies consistent with the Attorney General's guidance, which will also detail the rights and responsibilities of individuals interacting with federal law enforcement personnel. The bill aims to provide clear protections for vulnerable populations by limiting immigration enforcement activities in spaces traditionally considered safe and essential for community services.

Public Schools - Restorative Practices Schools - Comprehensive Plan

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This bill would require the State Department of Education to develop a comprehensive plan by July 1, 2026, for the establishment of Restorative Practices Schools which integrate restorative practices into daily practices and activities of the whole school. It would also require a county board of education to use the comprehensive plan if the county board chooses to establish a Restorative Practices School. It would require the Department to report to the Governor and the General Assembly by December 1, 2026, on the comprehensive plan for Restorative Practices Schools. This bill aims to provide ways to resolve disputes by using restorative practices such as medication that can resolve a dispute and provide dignity for all involved.

Support the Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for All Marylanders Now Act (Rx Affordability Board)

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This bill would grant Maryland’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board the expanded authority to set statewide upper payment limits to make high-cost drugs more affordable for all Marylanders.
It would expand the authority of the Rx Affordability Board – which gained approval of its Upper Payment Limit Action Plan to make prescription drugs more affordable for state and local governments – to set upper limits for drugs for all Maryland residents.

Tenant Possessions Recovery Act

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This bill would require landlords to provide notice to a tenant fourteen days before a scheduled date of eviction. This bill would also allow the tenant a ten-day reclamation period following the eviction to recover personal property from the premises or another secure location chosen by the landlord.

Oppose fast-tracked gas plants! Oppose the Next Generation Energy Act!

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

The Next Generation Energy Act, responding to an anticipated energy shortage in Maryland, sets the process and conditions for procuring and permitting new or co-located gas and nuclear power generating stations. In its emergency energy procurement provisions, the bill promotes “dispatchable energy generation” that has a lower greenhouse gas emissions profile than coal or oil-powered stations. Environmental impact is to be one of a range of criteria used to evaluate and compare project proposals, and an approved project will be subject to an expedited certificate of public convenience and necessity process. Ratepayers and the state are to be held harmless for any cost overruns associated with the projects, and the costs of construction or operation of a project may not be recovered through utility rates.

While the bill pays lip service to environmental concerns, the intent is to prioritize gas and nuclear power generation to add to Maryland’s grid capacity. The fast-track application process is particularly concerning, as it waives existing regulations “requiring applicants for energy-generating stations to engage the participation of the affected communities for the purpose of educating the affected communities concerning the proposed project and soliciting their feedback” (Md. Code Regs. 20.79.01.04). The bill places no binding restrictions on the types of fossil fuels used and allows permitting exemptions for gas plants that would be built on sites previously used for electricity generation, significantly weakening regulatory oversight and limiting public input. Another provision in the bill allows large industrial customers—those with over 100 megawatts of energy demand, such as data centers—to contract directly with new or expanded gas plants, bypassing public ratepayer protections and traditional grid interconnection requirements.

Support the Formation of the Maryland Reparations Commission

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This bill would establish the Maryland Reparations Commission which would develop and administer a program to provide compensatory benefits to the descendants of individuals enslaved in the State, and with the assistance of State agencies, develop and evaluate processes and applications and require the Governor to include in the annual budget bill such sums as necessary to carry out the Act.