Les Knapp, MACo Legal and Policy Counsel, testified in opposition of SB 447, Maryland Environmental Service – Collective Bargaining, to the Senate Finance Committee on February 18, 2016.

From the MACo testimony:

As noted on the MES website (www.menv.com), MES is a self-supporting fee-for-service agency that “provides services at competitive rates to government and private sector clients and works on projects including water and wastewater treatment, solid waste management, composting, recycling, dredged material management, hazardous materials cleanup, storm water services and renewable energy.” Maryland counties are major MES clients and in FY 2015, MES did $38.4 million in business with various counties. This represented 27% of MES’ total income for that year.

As the bill’s fiscal note indicates, MES estimates it will likely have to charge an additional $1.3 to $3.4 million annually to local governments as a result of mandatory collective bargaining. This would undermine the unique role MES plays in assisting local governments to meet numerous federal and State environmental mandates.

For more on 2016 MACo legislation, visit the Legislative Database.