The Maryland Legislative Session comes to a close at midnight tonight, April 10th.

We have a lot to celebrate thanks to your actions! Our team tracked 6 bills this year, more than we’ve ever done before. We engaged over 600 people in advocacy, including public testimony by clergy and the Maryland Episcopal Diocese. 

Read on to learn how the bills landed.  For a full debriefing join us for our Post-Session Legislative Debriefing, on April 21st at 12 noon (via Zoom).  Click here to register. 

Remarkably, many bills were passed unanimously, demonstrating bipartisan support! Our debriefing on April 21st will highlight Del. Dana Stein (Democrat, confirmed) and we will continue to update this page as other speakers are confirmed. 

RSVP for the 2023 Maryland Legislative Debrief by clicking here.

Become an Advocacy Volunteer!

Did you know IPC has 1,014 Advocacy Volunteers? They sign petitions, share information with their congregations about pressing environmental bills, call their legislators and show up for rallies. For Maryland volunteers, we regularly email them to give them updates on actions they can take to lobby their elected officials. Join this volunteer force by clicking here. Be sure to tell us what state you live in on the signup form so our emails are tailored for your state legislation. 

Recap of How the Bills Landed:

Maryland the Beautiful Act (HB:631 / SB:470)

  • This bill has passed the House and Senate and is on its way to Governor Moore's desk!
  • It will help Maryland conserve land to better mitigate the effects of climate change and preserve iconic landscape and wildlife. 
  • Thank you to everyone who signed our petition supporting this bill. Your advocacy made a difference! 
  • Thank you to our volunteer, John Barnes, who tracked this bill -- and many others -- closely and helped us stay on top of its progress. 
  • IPC submitted written testimony to the House and Senate and attached copies of all the signatures on the petition. 
  • The Maryland Episcopal Diocese also submitted testimony. Thank you Rev. Linda Boyd for preparing that testimony.
  • Thank you to Rev. Katie Saari, Chair of the Creation Care Advocacy and Action Team, Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church, for providing a testimonial supporting this bill that was circulated on social media.

Greenspace Equity Program (HB:503 / SB:923) 

  • This bill has passed the House and Senate and is on its way to Governor Moore's desk!
  • This bill will help foster urban greenspace for all communities.
  • IPC made calls and submitted written testimony to the House and Senate. 
  • Thank you Rev. Linda Boyd, representing the Maryland Episcopal Diocese, for providing in-person testimony in a Senate hearing.
  • Thank you also to Rev. Frank Lance of Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church in Baltimore for providing a testimonial supporting this bill that was circulated on social media.


Forest Conservation (HB:723 / SB:526)

  • This bill has passed the House and Senate and is on its way to Governor Moore's desk!
  • Maryland is losing 10 acres of forest each day and this bill aimed to change that.
  • Join us at the debrief to learn about next steps.
  • IPC made calls and submitted written testimony to the House and Senate in support of this bill.
  • Thank you to the Maryland Episcopal Diocese that submitted written testimony supporting this bill, and to our very own volunteer, Al Todd, who helped them write that testimony!
  • Thank you also to our volunteer, Ann Payne, who tracked this bill very closely and provided timely action alerts to us throughout the session!

Community Solar (HB:908 / SB:613) 

  • This bill has passed the House and Senate and is on its way to Governor Moore's desk!
  • Join us at the debrief to learn about next steps.

Energy Savings Act (HB:904 / SB:689) 

  • This bill did not get through the chambers in time. 
  • Join us at the debrief to learn about next steps.

Offshore Wind (HB:793 / SB:781) 

  • This bill has passed the House and Senate and is on its way to Governor Moore's desk!
  • The bill will strengthen labor standards for the offshore wind industry, set a goal for generating 8.5 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2031 (Maryland is currently building 2 gigawatts), facilitate the construction of a shared transmission infrastructure to reduce the cost and environmental impact of future offshore wind projects, and procure roughly 1 additional gigawatt of offshore wind power in existing lease areas while protecting ratepayers.

Maryland Offshore Wind, Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake

[Photo - Above] IPC staff Taylor Swanson, board member Rebecca Rehr, and Volunteer Al Todd at the Offshore Wind Rally in Annapolis on March 15th

Maryland Native Plant Program (HB:950 / SB:836) 

  • This bill has passed the House and Senate and is on its way to Governor Moore's desk!
  • Join us at the debrief to learn about next steps.

Thank Your Legislators!

This is a good time, now that session is over, to thank any legislators in your district who supported the above bills, even if the bill did not ultimately pass. 

  • As a reminder, to find your legislator, visit www.mdelect.net and enter your address. Once you click enter, it will bring up the contact information for your Delegates and Senators. 
  • To find how your representative voted, we have tabulated the voting records here for you:
    • Maryland the Beautiful Act - House tally, Senate tally
    • Greenspace Equity Program - House tally, Senate tally was not posted in time for this blog posting 
    • Forest Conservation - House and Senate tallies were not posted in time for this blog posting
    • Community Solar - House tally, Senate tally not posted in time for this blog posting
    • Energy Savings Act - never made it out of committee
    • Offshore Wind - House tally was not posted in time for this blog posting, Senate tally 
    • Maryland Native Plant Program - House tally, Senate tally