An article in the Annapolis Capital discusses environmental activists urging lawmakers to create a five cents plastic bag and stormwater fee to help fix the Chesapeake Bay problems and reduce Marylander’s “trashy habits.” From the article:

The bag fee would amount to 5 cents that customers would have to pay each time they’re given a plastic or paper bag at a store checkout… The stores would get to keep 1 or 2 cents — 1 cent is standard, 2 cents is for stores that offer incentives for customers to use reusable bags. The rest of the money would go toward distributing reusable bags to low-income Marylanders and then to the nonprofit Chesapeake Bay Trust, for environmental cleanup programs.

In regards to the stormwater fees, activists would like to see local governments take responsibility of the payments. However, in response to the crossfiled bills SB 614 and HB 987, activist mentioned that the bill doesn’t:

… say how much cities and counties would have to charge for a stormwater fee — it simply says local governments must set up some sort of a fee and use the money for fixing stormwater problems.

However, County Councilman Chris Trumbauer,  mentioned that some counties “lack the political will to create fees on their own, and need a nudge.”