Critics sound off after new legislation exempts hospitals from key policy: 'We think it was unnecessary'
Hospitals in Maryland will no longer be required to cut building emissions under the state's signature climate policy — a move that some climate advocates say could set a dangerous precedent.
This year, lawmakers passed House Bill 49 to modify the Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) program, Maryland Matters reported. The program has been revised to exempt hospitals from the rules and requirements.
The new legislation exempts hospitals and certain equipment used in hospitals and medical facilities from the BEPS program, which aims to reduce building pollution by 2040 in Maryland.
The Maryland Hospital Association pushed for the change, arguing that continuous, reliable power is critical for patient safety in facilities like intensive care units, emergency rooms, and operating rooms. The MHA added that power disruptions could have deadly consequences.
Natasha Mehu, the MHA's vice president of government affairs and policy, said hospitals do support efforts to fight rising global temperatures but need special consideration for an exemption.
The nonprofit organization Chesapeake Climate Action Network was initially in favor of House Bill 49, but lawmakers started discussing broader revisions to the program, which included exempting residential buildings and hospitals.
"We think it was unnecessary," said CCAN lobbyist Jamie DeMarco, per Maryland Matters. "No other BEPS in the country exempts hospitals."
Scaling back the rules and weakening the policies could delay Maryland's path to its 2040 net-zero emissions. This could also raise energy costs and limit job creation in the clean energy sector.
Beyond the economic impact, the BEPS rollback could also have consequences on the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indirect emissions from homes and businesses accounted for 31% of total emissions in the U.S. in 2022.
Exempting large buildings could enable them to continue relying on dirty energy sources that contribute to warming the climate and exposing people to harmful indoor air pollution that can cause respiratory issues and heart disease.
Do you think governments should ban gas stoves?
Heck yes!
Only in new buildings
Only in restaurants
Heck no!
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
These new changes to Maryland's BEPS program could slow down the progress toward cleaner energy in the state's big buildings. While the setbacks is discouraging, there are still ways to push for meaningful change.
Maryland has other acts and initiatives that are still in place, including ENERGIZE Maryland, which aims to boost clean energy production in the state to 75% of the total. It could help accelerate the state's journey toward achieving 100% clean energy by 2035 and reduce its pollution at the same time.
The best thing individuals can do to lobby for stronger environmental policies is to vote for pro-climate candidates during elections. Supporting them could give pro-climate leaders the power to push for policies that can make a difference and pave the way for a cleaner and safer future for all.
Other ways that individuals can help include staying informed about critical climate issues and policies and supporting local retrofitting projects and initiatives.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Maryland Democrats celebrate party wins, but Trump and GOP Congress are never far off
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) was a special guest speaker at the 2025 Maryland Democratic Party Gala on Thursday. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters). It was a celebration of Maryland Democrats and their victories over the past year, but the specter of President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress was never far off. With fancy gowns, sharp suits and drinks in hand, several hundred Maryland Democratic politicians, advocates and donors gathered Thursday at Martin's West and tried to find the light in their uphill battle against the Trump White House and the Republican majority in Congress. But in three hours of speeches, nearly every speaker stressed that the fight against Trump's administration needs to continue — even if the challenges seem insurmountable. That included the evening's keynote speaker, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), a one-time pastor at Douglas Memorial Community Church in Baltimore. 'We will not give in to those who are trying to weaponize fear and despair,' Warnock told the crowd. 'We will not be intimidated into silence. We must raise our voices now more than ever. 'We are not going to give in to the rhetoric … of those who are trying to divide us. People who have no vision,' he said. 'They don't know how to lead us, so they are trying to divide us.' During the evening, Democratic leaders aired a wide range of grievances against the Trump administration's actions over the last five months — from mass layoffs of federal workers to the 'erroneous' deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to massive proposed budget cuts for programs such as Medicaid. While much of the evening served as a rallying cry to push back against Republicans in Congress, the evening also functioned as a farewell event to the outgoing Maryland Democratic Party Chair Ken Ulman, who will officially resign from the position Friday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Ulman said he was proud of what was accomplished in the time since he took over as chair in 2023. 'We've been busy the last couple of years. What did we do? In 2024, we won some elections. We won some big elections,' Ulman said. 'We kept our margin in the federal delegation. Angela Alsobrooks beat Larry Hogan – it took 10 years, we got him.' He was referring to the election of U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D) against former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R). Ulman also recognized wins by Democratic freshman Reps. Johnny Olszewski Jr. (2nd), Sarah Elfreth (3rd) and April McClain Delaney (6th), and he celebrated the party's hand in staving off several school board candidates — normally nonpartisan elections — who were politically aligned with the conservative group Moms for Liberty. But always it came back to the Trump administration. Democrats promised to fight back against what Alsobrooks called 'a horrible time' in America. 'We must understand in this moment that we have to fight back with everything within us, because we are not only harming ourselves here at home, but our image across the world is at stake,' Alsobrooks told the gala. 'What a horrible time it is for our country.' Many of their comments centered around the budget reconciliation bill known as the 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' which aims to reduce federal spending by drastically cutting funds to programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or food stamps. In a live recording of the Maryland Democratic Party's new podcast, called 'Burn the Talking Points,' Maryland's freshman House members were asked to describe the Big Beautiful Bill in one word. Olszewski said the bill was 'ugly,' Elfreth called the legislation 'an abomination,' while McClain Delaney simply called it 'mean.' Also speaking Thursday were Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th), as well as Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman, and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller. Gov. Wes Moore (D) ended the evening with his usual bright message of encouragement for the years ahead under the Trump administration. 'As Sen. Warnock said, these are challenging times. No one can deny it,' he said, adding that he hoped to see Maryland take charge in pushing back against Trump and the Republicans. 'There is something that no one can deny. Maryland is showing that we can do different. That inside this moment, we have to be able to call out injustices,' Moore said. 'And we have to be able to call out the atrocities that we are seeing from this administration. 'But we also have to be very clear that calling out the atrocities will not be enough — we have to show what an alternative can actually be,' he said.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
As Chesapeake restoration crashes, greenwashing pervades
Gov. Wes Moore (D) signs the Chesapeake Bay Legacy Act on May 13, 2025, with a basket of greens brought by a Montgomery County farmer to celebraate the signing. (Photo by Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters) The Chesapeake Bay is being polluted with huge flows of farm pollutants and environmental greenwashing. Elected and appointed government officials are aided and abetted by supposed conservation leaders. Government officials are driven by hypocritically burnishing their Green credentials with nothing-burgers while avoiding offending polluting interests. Some environmental organization leaders are also driven to claim significant policy successes when there are none. This is done to ensure that they do not lose governmental and private funding by criticizing the lack of meaningful measures to significantly curb Bay pollutants. These opportunists have become environmental mercenaries. Sadly, gone are a formerly robust group of experienced environmental journalists. The few new ones are overburdened with other assignments and succumb to Greenwashing. A prime example is the Chesapeake Bay Legacy Act. On May 14, Maryland Matters reported on the bill's signing, dutifully quoting its progenitor, Gov. Wes Moore: 'This is the most comprehensive piece of Chesapeake Bay legislation that Maryland has seen in years.' This is a Trumpian overstatement of epic proportions reminiscent of former Gov. Larry Hogan's discredited claim in 2019 that his efforts resulted in a Chesapeake Bay 'cleaner than it has been in recorded history.' A close examination of Moore's Legacy legislation reveals that it does very little if anything to reduce the Bay's major pollutants of nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment and toxic chemicals. Maryland Matters welcomes guest commentary submissions at editor@ We suggest a 750-word limit and reserve the right to edit or reject submissions. We do not accept columns that are endorsements of candidates, and no longer accept submissions from elected officials or political candidates. Opinion pieces must be signed by at least one individual using their real name. We do not accept columns signed by an organization. Commentary writers must include a short bio and a photo for their bylines. Views of writers are their own. Maryland Matters also gave a mostly favorable boost to Moore's 'complex' legislation on Feb. 11, mostly parroting Moore and his secretary of Agriculture's propaganda. The reporting did note that 'Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced with some fanfare in the fall that he planned to introduce legislation during this year's General Assembly session to expand and modernize Maryland's efforts to protect the Chesapeake Bay, telling assembled leaders from every state in the Bay watershed, 'It's up to us to protect it.'' Moore was speaking as chair of the Bay Program's Executive Council. Moore is obviously desperate to burnish his presidential cred, as was Hogan. The legislation changes little in the status quo so as not to upset agribusiness and commercial fishing interests that might impede his presidential ambitions. From my 55 years of environmental advocacy, I can discern greenwashing, and this bill epitomizes such. Let's examine the Legacy Act's details: First, a person who has a tidal fish license or commercial channa license and harvests and processes finfish on a vessel by ikejime for direct sale to restaurants need not have a food establishment license. Secondly, minor changes are made regarding the procedures for adoption of fishery management plans. Nothing is included that would better conserve crashing fish and crab populations. Aquaculture regulations are tweaked but there are no needed changes to better advance oyster aquaculture. The bill allows publicly funded oyster restoration projects to generate water quality trading credits allowing pollution reductions from planting oysters to be traded for increased pollution elsewhere. In a separate bill, oyster poaching penalties are relaxed. The Legacy Act establishes a Water Quality Monitoring Program in the Department of Natural Resources that simply formalizes the existing water quality monitoring system. Big deal. But the major initiative in this grab bag is yet another voluntary agricultural program termed LEEF, Leaders in Environmentally Engaged Farming. Despite my repeated efforts to dissuade the secretary of Agriculture from such a meaningless approach that would waylay needed regulatory efforts, the legislation was enacted into law. The secretary acknowledged publicly that voluntary farm measures have failed to achieve the necessary pollution reductions. Farmers who choose to may apply for certification to be created akin to LEED building certifications except this is entirely voluntary and there are no details on its implementation or on attaining certification levels except: Credit must be given for preserving farmland, participation in farmers markets, donations to food banks, on-farm research and for farmers lecturing about agriculture. Instead of acting to curb the largest source of Bay-choking pollution by better regulatory measures and enforcement, and despite knowing that voluntary farm measures do not work well, LEEF would perpetuate the desecration of our environmental legacy. LEEF already was used to defeat legislation requiring riparian buffer plantings on 2,665 acres of Critical Area farmland. Remarkably, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's president is quoted supporting this fraud: 'With federal cuts and rollbacks looming heavily on our state, Maryland's environmental leadership is more important than ever. This Act will help maintain forward momentum and ensure that investments in clean air, clean water, habitats, and local economies are secured.' With such gubernatorial and NGO leadership, may God Save The Bay!
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Van Hollen, other Dems push legislation to boost Medicaid and counter Trump cuts
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) in a file photo from February. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) Senate Democrats unveiled a package of bills Thursday aimed at expanding access to health care coverage, including one bill modeled after a successful Maryland law that lets taxpayers use their tax returns to enroll in care. Sen. Chris Van Hollen's (D-Md.) 'Easy Enrollment in Health Care Act' is one of about a dozen bills — including one from Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) requiring Medicaid and Medicare to provide dental, vision and hearing coverage — put forward by Democratic senators as a response to the Trump administration's efforts to cut federal health care spending. 'We're all here for those two reasons,' Van Hollen said Thursday at a Capitol Hill news conference to unveil the bills. 'One is to shine a light on the great damage and harm the Trump Republican plan will do. But also to put forward some ideas about what we could be doing to actually make health care better for more Americans.' Van Hollen joined Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico to unveil the bills. The Democratic legislation comes at a time when the Senate is deliberating the Republican-backed 'One Big Beautiful Bill.' The budget reconciliation bill would implement a number of Trump agenda items, including drastic cuts to Medicaid and other supports that backers say are needed to rein in what they call 'waste, fraud and abuse' in those programs. With a Republican majority in both the Senate and the House, Wyden acknowledged that the Democratic bills have little chance of passage. But. he said, Democrats still hope Republicans will work with them on the legislation and 'do the right thing.' Report: Up to 100,000 Marylanders could lose coverage if Medicaid imposes work requirements Democrats and health care advocates say the budget reconciliation bill would create more administrative hurdles for Medicaid recipients and will result in millions of people losing coverage, even if they would be eligible for the joint state-federal health care program. 'It's 'beautiful' if you're a billionaire or a very wealthy person. For everybody else, it's an ugly mess,' Van Hollen said of the GOP bill. 'It comes at the expense of everybody else in America. And that's especially true when it comes to attacking health care … In fact, it will kick 16 million Americans off their health insurance plans.' He said his bill, modeled after Maryland's 'Easy Enrollment' program, would do the opposite. In Maryland, Easy Enrollment lets people check a box on their state tax forms to allow the state to use information on the return to see if their household qualifies for Medicaid. Those who qualify then get further information on what options they qualify for, reducing administrative hurdles to Medicaid and other programs in Maryland. 'What we should do is make it easier for eligible individuals to get the Medicaid that they are eligible for,' Van Hollen said. This is the second time he has introduced the bill in Congress. A version introduced in the last Congress never even got a committee hearing. The other Democrats at the press conference offered their own bills to strengthen Medicaid. Cortez Masto's bill would increase funding for health care fraud investigation units to help catch more waste, fraud, and abuse in the system. She says that is more productive than just cutting funds to Medicaid. Luján is sponsoring a bill to temporarily expand federal funding to Medicaid programs for home- and community-based services that help support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Wyden also highlighted his own legislation to address hospital labor and delivery unit closures by supporting rural hospitals with additional Medicaid dollars. 'Fact of the matter is that Democrats want to make it easier for Americans to get health care, rather than put people who desperately need health care through bureaucratic water torture if they're going to get the health care they need,' Wyden said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
