On February 12, Director of Intergovernmental Relations Dominic Butchko testified before the Environment and Transportation Committee in support of HB 49 – Environment – Building Energy Performance Standards – Compliance and Reporting with amendments.
This bill requires counties to comply with energy use intensity standards that will be set by the Maryland Department of the Environment or pay alternative compliance and administration fees.
When the General Assembly created building energy performance standards (BEPS) for greenhouse gases, they included targets and thresholds in the legislation. HB 49 lacks that specificity and counties request clarity as to what the state’s energy BEPS will be.
Counties appreciate the State’s commitment to reducing greenhouse emissions and air pollution as well as promoting responsible energy use tracking and consumption, but with no clear benchmarks, it is not possible to anticipate the impact on county governments and taxpayer dollars. Similar to the existing greenhouse gas emission standards, HB 49 should be amended to make clear what the standards are for energy use intensity as well as both penalties associated with alternative compliance.
HB 49’s cross-file, SB 256, was heard on February 13 in the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee. Dominic Butchko testified in support of this bill with amendments.
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