The Board of Charles County Commissioners has approved legislation to establish a resilience authority.
The Commissioners voted this week to approve the creation of a resilience authority after a successful public hearing last week. Legislation passed during the 2020 General Assembly Session with MACo’s support that enables local governments to form resilience authorities to aid in the financing of resilience infrastructure projects.
As many communities across the State struggle with the impacts of sea level rise, local governments are looking for means to effectively finance necessary mitigation infrastructure to protect waterfront areas from the effects of climate change. Private capital can make all the difference in getting these types of projects off the ground, and resilience authorities allow governments to attract other investments to achieve their goals. Resilience authorities can also help local government better fund climate change mitigation efforts
From the press release:
The Charles County Commissioners enacted Bill 2020-07 titled Resilience Authority of Charles County.
The legislation will add Chapter 299. Resilience Authority to the Code of Charles County. It will establish the creation of a Resilience Authority that is empowered to secure financing for resilience infrastructure projects that mitigate the effects of climate change in Charles County as set forth in Title 22 of the Local Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
The County’s approach to climate change and resiliency was highlighted by Standard & Poor’s in their 2020 review of the County’s AAA bond rating.
For more information, view the press release.