Legislative Priorities

2019 Maryland General Assembly Priorities

Healthy, Green Maryland Amendment to provide lasting protections for breathable air, drinkable water in Maryland. To establish the state is a fiduciary for equal access to a healthy environment for present and future generations of Marylanders. A state constitutional green amendment is a natural successor to fracking ban that can fill gaps in existing law to protect our state from increasing vulnerability in the context of the threat of climate change.

Take a look at our testimony in Support of HB 472.

Public Health Protections at the Public Service Commission (PSC) to provide a layer of human health protections at the state Commission which regulates electric and gas utilities among other industries, using the rapid health impact assessment (HIA) tool to determine baseline impacts and potential alternatives. The rapid HIA is to be completed by an applicant to the PSC within forty five days of an application to Commission to support the overall health of residents living near a proposed activity.

Take a look at our testimony in Support of HB 308.

Maryland Healthy Children Act (HB1233) There is no safe level of lead exposure and the effects of lead poisoning are irreversible. Reducing the elevated blood lead level that initiates certain case management, notification, and lead risk reduction requirements in owner-occupied and affected properties; altering certain notification requirements triggered by the results of a certain blood test; requiring the Department of the Environment to conduct an environmental investigation within 10 days when a child under the age of 6 years or a woman who is pregnant has a certain elevated blood lead level.

Maryland General Assembly Supported Bill Proposals

Environment

HB504 – Purchase of Motor Vehicles and Building Construction, Renovation, Rehabilitation– Social Cost of Carbon
HB0082 – Transportation – Complete Streets – Access to Healthy Food
HB246 – General Assembly – Fiscal Notes – Environmental Impact Statements

Public Health/Toxics

HB 109 — Expanded Polystyrene Food Service Products– Prohibition
HB275 – Pesticides – Use of Chlorpyrifos – Prohibition
HB299 – Public Health – Sale and Distribution of Products Containing NMP and DCM – Prohibition
HB300 – Public Health – Sale or Distribution of Trichloroethylene – Prohibition

2018 Maryland General Assembly Priorities

Better Notification and Public Health Protections at the Public Service Commission (PSC)

(Now 2 Bills!) There is a need for commonsense improvements at PSC. Proposed process improvements would (1) Increase transparency and notification via creation of an accessible, plain language website, searchable by county to inform residents of proposed actions (HB0715), and(HB1387) (2) Add a layer of necessary protections via rapid health impact assessment to provide a snapshot of the health implications of a proposed action for residents living near a proposed facility (HB1632).

Community Healthy Air Act (HB26/SB 133)

The Community Healthy Air Act would require the Maryland Department of the Environment to conduct a study that identifies, and monitors air pollutants emitted by large chicken houses. While industrial chicken farms emit harmful air pollutants, we don’t know how much this pollution is affecting the health of neighboring communities or nearby waters, including the Chesapeake Bay.

Lowering Maryland’s blood lead action level for children (HB0304)

There is no safe level of lead exposure and the effects of lead poisoning are irreversible. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention set a reference blood lead level of 5 μg/dL, but Maryland law does not require intervention until children have levels of 10 μg/dL. Our action level should be at the CDC reference level. Of the children aged 0-72 months tested for lead in 2016,1,729 had blood lead levels between 5 µg/dL and 9 µg/dL.

* See download for complete listing of environmental health priorities we support.

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2017 Maryland General Assembly

Legislative Wrap Up 2017
Read about the outcomes on our priority bills in the 2017 Maryland legislative session.

Environmental Justice

The environmental justice movement seeks clean and healthy environments for communities that are overburdened by pollution and health hazards, and promotes meaningful community engagement in policy-making. In Annapolis this year, we will advocate for environmental justice by working on bills addressing at least two areas of documented disparities: food deserts and lead.

The Clean Energy Jobs Act – VETO OVERRIDDEN

The General Assembly passed this bill, but the Governor vetoed it after the end of the legislative session.This bill will ensure 25% renewable energy by 2020. An override of the veto will assure actions that decrease air pollution that contributes to asthma and other health conditions. Air pollution is a human carcinogen and contributes to cardiovascular disease.

Ban on Fracking – SB0740

A regulatory framework is inadequate to protect us from the pervasive environmental and health effects of fracking. Since 2015, public health research has documented increased risk of adverse birth outcomes, asthma attacks, and migraines near highly fracked areas. Other disturbing issues that cannot be addressed by regulations include violence against women; drug and alcohol abuse near fracking sites; and community disruption and division. With the moratorium set to expire in 2017, we need the Maryland legislature to ban fracking in Maryland now.

Keep Antibiotics Effective – HB0602 / SB0422

2 million infections and 23,000 deaths occur nationally every year due to antibiotic resistance. In the U.S., 70% of medically important antibiotics are sold for use in daily livestock production. This bill stops the daily sub-therapeutic application of antibiotics in factory farms. The Center for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics join the call for responsible use of antibiotics in animal agriculture.

Polystyrene Foam (Styrofoam) Ban – HB0229 / SB0186

Maryland counties are already banning polystyrene food containers; this bill calls for Maryland to do the same. More readily released under heat, styrene leaches into food and drink served in foam containers, exposing humans to chemicals that are classified by the National Institutes of Health as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” In the water, tiny pieces of styrene can be ingested by fish or other wildlife, also exposing them to toxic chemicals.