On February 2, 2022, Associate Policy Director Dominic Butchko, testified before the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Committee in opposition to SB 113 – Environmental Health Specialists and On–Site Sewage Disposal Systems – Transfer of Responsibilities and Standards, Regulations, Applications, and Plans. This bill aims to expedite the septic application process.

MACo has been working with the bill sponsor, Senator Katie Fry Hester, on amendments to make this bill a more collaborative approach to address mutual concerns around septics.

From the MACo testimony: 

In recognizing the complexity of this issue, and these local concerns, MACo understands the bill sponsor may be prepared to introduce several productive sponsor amendments. These amendments include: removing language transferring the Board of Environmental Health Specialists from Maryland Department of Health to MDE; removing language requiring septic application approvals within two months of submission; adding language requiring any MDE-developed database for local health departments to be single data entry; and finally, requiring an appropriation of $5,000,000 beginning in the next fiscal year to address critical staffing shortages and retention issues around environmental health employees within the Maryland Department of Health budget.

Follow MACo’s advocacy efforts during the 2022 legislative session on MACo’s Legislative Tracking Database.
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