Thank you activists: MD's Climate Bill is Done!

Dear CCAN activists,

It is with great pride that I announce that today, on the last day of the 2009 session of the MD General Assembly, the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act jumped through the last logistical legislative hoop, and is headed to Governor O’Malley’s desk for signing. If you haven’t already done so, take a moment to thank/spank your legislator for their vote on the bill.Remember this? Rally for Global Warming in the snow!

I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for all the hard work you did over the past few years. Thank you for calling your legislator – and calling others in your district to tell them to make a call as well. Thank you for coming to Annapolis during a snow storm to show Governor O’Malley and the General Assembly that we were serious about passing this bill. Thank you for coming BACK to Annapolis to lobby and to thank the Governor for his support. Thank you for organizing constituent meetings in your district, attending town hall meetings across the state, and making sure that every legislator in the state knows that fighting global warming is a top priority for MD voters.

And the timing couldn’t be better: we’re gearing up for a big fight on the federal level, with two climate bills already introduced. Here in MD, we can be proud of doing our part to add to the pressure Congress is feeling to pass something strong – and we need to make sure that our elected officials on Capital Hill know that we plan on holding them accountable to passing strong climate legislation, just like we did on the state level.

Thanks again for all your hard work,

Holly, MD Campaign Coordinator, and the rest of the CCAN team

PS – Keep your ears open for details on a thank you celebration and victory party, to be scheduled some time in May.

MD's Climate Bill

You all probably all know this by now, but the MD House of Delegates passed the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act 107-31 last Friday. Woo! Celebrate! (you should probably get your beer-drinking in while you still can)

Now you’re probably wondering a few things: What else needs to happen for the bill to become law? And, more importantly, what exactly will this piece of legislation do, and what does it mean for MD and the US?

Easy question first. The bill will go back to the Senate, where they will vote again to accept the minor amendments passed by the House (things like a provision to make sure that the Department of Agriculture is involved in discussions of offset programs). Then, it will be headed off to Governor O’Malley’s desk. To find out how your elected officials voted, click here (enter your zip code to see your legislators), and then send them a thank you email (or a spank you email, if they are still thinking that global warming is actually caused by sunspots).

So what does GGERA actually do, and why do we love it so much? GGERA sets a hard cap on carbon – meaning that the state has a mandate to reduce our global warming pollution at least 25% below 2006 levels by 2020. In addition, GGERA calls for the Maryland Department of the Environment to create a comprehensive plan on how we’ll get to these reductions by 2012. This does NOT mean that we are holding off on taking action until 2012 – instead, that is the date by which MDE must have all of the necessary programs up and ready to go. For more details on the nitty-gritty of the bill, check out this factsheet put together by MDE.

This bill has broader implications as well. First off (time for me to brag about MD), this is the STRONGEST bill passed by any state on climate legislation, especially when it comes to short term reduction targets. This also means that MD’s passage of a strong climate bill will help push our federal officials into passing a strong bill. Want to help? Become a Climate Precinct Captain, and organize for federal solutions in YOUR community.

Get the latest updates on GGERA!

Follow our twitter feed @ccan to get the latest updates on GGERA, Maryland’s awesome global warming bill. It already passed in the Senate, and just passed the 2nd reader in the House.

Update or comment on Twitter with #ggera in your tweet!


Other Annapolis Fights

Annapolis update: Since our lovely global warming bill is looking great [UPDATE – just passed 2nd reader in the House!], take a minute to talk to you legislators on other legislation that will help decrease our global warming pollution!

The ask of the day? Support smart and fair growth! Smart growth and good land use policies are designed to do things like reduce vehicle miles traveled, encourage public transit use, with added bonuses of improving water quality and creating affordable housing. So – fight global warming through good land use planning!

Take a minute RIGHT NOW and email your Delegate, asking them to vote for HB 295 as amended by committee, and to resist any further amendents.

MD Senate Passes Global Warming Bill

While I was busy protesting coal in Washington DC, the MD state senate passed GGERA, a with a whopping vote of 36-9. Check out the vote count after the jump.

And last week, while I was at PowerShift 09, two committees in the House of Delegates held a hearing on the bill, which also went well.

What’s next? The House committees will hold a vote (hopefully sometime in the next few weeks), and then it’s on to the Senate floor. Overall, things are looking good, but of course, I will let you know the minute anything changes.

I also want to take a moment to send a giant THANK YOU shout-out to all of you, the grassroots activists who worked on this bill so tirelessly for the past few years. You are the ones responsible for making MD’s leadership on global warming a reality!
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