On March 3, Director of Intergovernmental Relations Dominic Butchko submitted written testimony to the Environment and Transportation Committee in support of HB 1532 – Continuing the Next Generation Energy Act with amendments.
This bill, while largely outside of the purview of county governments, directs the Power Plant Research Program to produce a study on streamlining energy zoning and permitting. County/community input and coordination should be a component of the visioning process in the bill.
Recent sessions have placed energy policy at the forefront, with sweeping efforts to address system reliability, affordability, and long-term planning. Counties are often on the front lines of implementing such policies and retain primary responsibility for community-level land use planning. MACo’s proposed amendment seeks to ensure that any statewide recommendations are developed in consultation with county planning and permitting officials, aligning energy infrastructure goals with local comprehensive plans, infrastructure capacity, and community impacts.
MACo requests an amendment to clarify that recommendations on a State-level
zoning or permitting structure be developed in consultation with county planning and permitting officials, so the recommendations reflect local comprehensive plans, county infrastructure capacity, and community impacts.
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