It’s that time of year again - the Maryland Legislative session runs from January to April!

Here at IPC, we’ve been gearing up to advocate for legislation that will have a lasting, positive impact on the Chesapeake Bay and communities within the watershed. This year, we reached out to our network of Advocacy Volunteers to solicit their input regarding what the most important environmental issues are to our network. As we discussed our policy priorities for the 2024 session, we took this feedback into consideration and determined the three bills that we’ll be advocating for this session:

Environmental Permits and State Agency Actions: Gives the Maryland Department of the Environment the authority to approve, alter, or deny a permit based on an EJ score, and assessment of other permits and the underlying sociodemographic characteristics of the community.

Whole Watersheds: Establishes a pilot program to focus state financial and technical resources in up to 5 impaired watersheds across Maryland to achieve accelerated impacts in a concentrated geographic region.

In addition, our partners at Interfaith Power & Light are emphasizing the EmPOWER Reform bill, which will ease the transition from gas appliances to electric, particularly in low-income homes, and reduce greenhouse gasses.

Want to learn more about these bills and how to make your voice heard? Please join us virtually at 2 PM on February 4th, as we discuss how your community can advocate for legislation that promotes clean air, clean water, and environmental justice. We’ll hear from experts about priority legislation, why it’s important for Maryland, and how, as people of faith, we can be advocates from a moral and religious perspective.

We’re glad to be able to provide a forum for our network of faithful, green stewards to discuss and learn about these important bills! You can register for the 2024 Maryland Legislative Session Briefing here!