On February 24, 2022, Associate Policy Director Brianna January testified before the Senate Health, Education, and Environmental Affairs Committee in support of SB 575 – Public Schools – Mold Assessment and Remediation with amendments. This bill requires the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Maryland Department of Health and the Department of General Services, to adopt regulations on or before June 1, 2023, establishing uniform standards for mold assessment and remediation in public schools, including requiring each county board of education to establish a process for reporting and assessing potential mold in a public school and remediating mold identified during a mold assessment; etc.

From the MACo testimony: 

MACo was happy to work with the bill sponsors to address these concerns via forthcoming
amendments. Working with the bill sponsors, and in consultation with the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC), MACo identified two existing school construction funding programs that could help support counties to repair or replace major systems that are found to be faulty and the cause of a facility’s mold issue: the Healthy School Facility Fund and the Aging Schools Program. The IAC has confirmed via email that both programs can be used to address faulty systems that may be the underlying cause of mold.

MACo will be testifying on the bill’s crossfile, HB 783, on March 1, 2022.

More on MACo’s advocacy:

Follow MACo’s advocacy efforts during the 2022 legislative session on MACo’s Legislative Tracking Database.
Learn more about MACo’s 2022 Legislative Initiatives.
Read more General Assembly News on MACo’s Conduit Street blog.