In a surprise move, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) allowed two key pieces of climate-related legislation to become law on Friday without his signature.

The Climate Solutions Now Act, Senate Bill 528, resets the state’s emissions-reduction goals to 60% below 2006 levels by 2031 and net zero by 2045, while House Bill 740 requires Maryland’s State Retirement and Pension System to incorporate climate risk into its investment evaluations “to ensure a long-term sustainable portfolio.”

In a letter to the General Assembly announcing his decision to allow the two bills to become law, Hogan called both “example[s] of poor legislative practice and misguided resources resulting from partisan politics.” But, he said, “I will allow them to pass into law in the hopes they will generate future deliberation and discussion on this critically important issue.”

A veto of either bill would likely have faced a quick Democratic override, as did all 10 of the bills Hogan did veto, as reported by Maryland Matters. (See Md. General Assembly Sends Climate Solutions Bill to Hogan.)

In March, Hogan had called SB 528 a “reckless and controversial energy tax,” but in his letter, he said, “I am encouraged by some of the subsequent revisions to the bill that are more in line with my administration’s insistence on ambitious yet achievable climate solutions.”

HB 740 was well intended, he said, but it “sets a worrisome precedent and creates a slippery slope; instead of micromanaging our state retirement system, elected officials should allow our investment experts and professionals to do what they do best.”

Anticipating a veto of SB 528, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network had called for a rally at the Maryland State House in Annapolis on Saturday to support an override and “ensure this vital piece of legislation crosses the finish line.”

Sen. Paul Pinsky (D), SB 528’s chief sponsor, called the bill’s no-signature enactment “a great victory in addressing climate change.” Pinsky had worked to maintain support for the bill in the Senate after amendments approved in the House of Delegates cut or scaled back some of its key provisions, according to local media reports.

Cut entirely from the bill were provisions requiring that from 2023 to 2033, at least one new school in each school district be built to net-zero standards.

The bill’s broader provisions on building performance standards were another casualty. They would have required that new or renovation projects built with at least 25% state funding meet high-performance building standards developed by the Maryland Green Building Council. Emissions-reduction targets for large commercial buildings and multifamily dwellings were also cut, from 50% to 20% in 2030, and a net-zero target for 2035 was completely eliminated.

Instead, the new law calls for “the Public Service Commission and the Building Codes Administration to study and make recommendations on the electrification of buildings in the state.”

The House amendments also rebranded the Maryland Climate Justice Corps in the original Senate version as the Chesapeake Conservation Corps. The goal in both cases is to provide education and job training programs to help develop “green career ladders” for youth and young adults, but with a shift in focus from environmental justice to environmental conservation.

For example, while a primary purpose of the Climate Justice Corp would have been to “promote climate justice and assist the state in achieving its greenhouse gas emissions-reduction targets,” the corresponding goal of the Conservation Corps is to “promote, preserve, protect and sustain the environment.”

Distribution Planning for Climate Goals

Both new laws will go into effect June 1. Additional provisions of SB 528 include:

• the establishment of a Climate Catalytic Capital Fund that will be used to start a green bond program and help finance and leverage private investment for a range of emission-reduction and clean energy programs. Initial allocations for the fund would be $5 million a year for 2024 to 2026.
• a $50 million electric school bus pilot program that will allow utilities to test out the use of vehicle-to-grid technologies at times electric buses in the program are not in use.
• a steady phase-in of EVs in the state’s passenger car fleet, with 100% of all new purchases electric or hybrid by 2028 and 100% of all other light-duty vehicles electric by 2033.

The House amendments to the bill also added a requirement for the PSC to submit a yearly report to the General Assembly on the status of the state’s distribution system and distribution planning processes. The first report is due on or before Dec. 1, 2024. It must cover how distribution planning and implementation is supporting the state’s climate goals, including reducing carbon emissions, improving efficiency and resilience, and increasing the amount of distributed energy resources on the grid.

Hailing the new law, Josh Tulkin, director of the Sierra Club’s Maryland chapter, said, “Climate solutions are good for our environment, our health and our wallets. With gas prices skyrocketing, this is a critical time for Maryland to invest in a clean energy future to help Marylanders reduce their reliance on fossil fuels for heating and cooking.”

HB 740 requires the Board of Trustees of the state pension funds to incorporate climate-risk assessments into its investment policy manual. The board is instructed to look at the climate-risk assessment policies and best practices of other states for possible adaptation in Maryland. The law also calls for a holistic assessment of climate risk, examining “the potential magnitude of the long-term risks and opportunities of multiple scenarios and related regulatory developments across industry sectors, asset classes, and the total portfolio of the several [retirement and pension] systems.”

Va.’s HB 1204

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) signed more than 100 bills in the first week of April, including one climate measure, according to a Friday press release.

HB 1204 seeks to promote the development of renewable energy projects within the state and, in particular, projects located on brownfields or former coal mine sites. Under the new law, the state’s two investor-owned utilities — Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power — will be required to comply with Virginia’s renewable portfolio standard in 2023 and 2024 by prioritizing the procurement of cost-competitive renewable energy credits (RECs) from eligible projects located in the state.

The two utilities will also be required to develop plans for acquiring cost-competitive RECs from in-state projects that are eligible for grants from a state program aimed at locating renewable energy projects on brownfield or former coal mine sites.

The Virginia Clean Economy Act (HB 1526) requires Dominion to decarbonize its power generation by 2045, with Appalachian Power to follow in 2050.