House committee’s decision to amend a popular consumer protection bill puts its fate in doubt as Sine Die approaches.
‘I can’t wait to talk to all the librarians and the parents and the advocates who worked with me the last 12 months,’ says exultant sponsor of Freedom to Read Act.
There were 71 lobbyists registered to represent the utilities’ interests in 2023, according to the report, led by Baltimore Gas and Electric and Pepco, which each used 22 lobbyists last year.
Lawmakers across the U.S., including in Md., seek to curb utility spending on politics, ads and more
‘These efforts and organizations often slow or prevent progress towards our clean energy goals,’ Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery) said in an email this week to her constituents.
Bill decrees that when monopoly utilities spend money on activities completely unrelated to the delivery of energy services, that money comes from their profits, not their customer’s wallets.
While the legislation largely targets low-income communities, its impact would reach beyond those underserved neighborhoods.
Gov. Moore’s office says he is ‘disappointed’ by the news of Orsted’s decision but is determined to build the state’s offshore wind industry.
The Md. Dept. of the Environment estimates that at least $1 billion annually in new state spending is necessary for investments that would help the state meet its climate goals.
Scrutiny on utility charges for transmission construction comes as state lawmakers from around the country, led by a Md. legislator, press federal regulators to allow more renewable energy onto the grid.
The plan is likely to result in legislation that will be debated in the 2024 General Assembly session and possibly beyond.