As we complete the first legislative session of the four-year term of the O’Malley administration and the General Assembly, it is important to take a step back to assess where we are and what we might be able to accomplish over the next three years.

On two of our top three issue areas— global warming and water pollution—we passed meaningful legislation this year and set up a strong foundation to make more progress in the years to come. On the third, land preservation, we saw minor progress this year and will have to build toward larger steps next year.

Our biggest victory was passing the Clean Cars Act. After passing the Healthy Air Act last year to reduce emissions from power plants, we feared that legislators would be inclined against passing more air pollution legislation just one year later. We were thrilled when the bill got as much traction as it deserved.

Since that bill was finished early, we continued our work on energy policy with the Global Warming Solutions Act and a bill to promote solar power.

The global warming bill would reduce Maryland’s carbon dioxide emissions to the 1990 level by 2020, a sixteen percent reduction from current emissions. Sen. Paul Pinsky and Del. Kumar Barve knew that the bill was a long shot to pass this year, but introduced it in order to build the legislative record and start rounding up support. We accomplished that goal exceedingly well, as it quickly became a major topic of debate. Leading policy makers know that it will be back again with even more momentum.

The solar bill adds a provision specific to solar power within the state’s existing renewable energy standard. It will require that 0.005 percent of the state’s electricity come from solar power in 2008, gradually increasing to two percent by 2022.

This will create 1500 megawatts of solar power, the amount of electricity that would come from two large power plants. This bill passed, and now stands as the third strongest solar power policy in the country.

We also had a big win this year on a bill to protect the Chesapeake Bay. The Stormwater Management Act will reduce runoff pollution from new development by requiring “low-impact design” for large new developments.

A bill to address the other major source of runoff pollution into the bay, from farmland, passed the House but failed in the Senate. The “Green Fund” is well positioned to be a central part of policy discussions over the summer.

On land preservation, we nearly closed a loophole requiring corporations with large real estate holdings to pay the same taxes the rest of us do to fund Program Open Space. Like other bills that establish new revenue, it was delayed to become part of discussions over budget issues later this year.

Bigger policies on growth management got put on hold this year pending the outcome of a task force that is scheduled to meet this summer. We expect controlling suburban sprawl to be one of the hottest environmental topics in Annapolis over the next three years as we see the influx of jobs from the military base realignment.

Passing three major bills in any year could be considered strong success. It is even better to do this in the first year of a fouryear cycle, which is normally a quiet year as new legislators find their feet.

Thank you for making our work possible with your support.

Sincerely,

Brad Heavner