You are one of over 600 Catholics across the State of Maryland who have signed (either online or after Mass at your parish) a petition organized by Maryland Catholics for Our Common Home in favor of key environmental bills now being considered in Annapolis. Thank you!

The next two weeks are crucial in the legislative process for moving these bills forward.

You are represented by a member of the Maryland House of Delegates who sits on its powerful Economic Matters Committee. This committee must vote in the next two weeks to move the following environmental bills forward. Here is a brief description of each bill, with a link to a fact sheet that you can download to learn more.

• HB 128 - Responding to Emergency Needs from Extreme Weather (RENEW) Act of 2025. Requires fossil fuel companies to provide dedicated funding (via a one-time fee related to their past greenhouse gas emissions) for Maryland's programs to prepare for and recover from intesifying climate disasters.
• HB 220 - Reclaim Renewable Energy Act of 2025. Removes trash inciineration from the forms of energy that receive financial incentives as "renewable" energy under Maryland's renewable electricity standard.
• HB 232 - Maryland Beverage Container Recycling Refund and Litter Rediuction Program. Creates a bottle/can deposit and refund system to reduce litter and increase recycling in Maryland -- similar to existing programs in ten other states.
• HB 398 - Abundant, Affordable Clean Energy Act. Enures that Maryland can generate the clean energy we need wile making energy bills more affordable and the electric grid more reliable.

If the Economic Matters Committee does not vote to move these bills forward in the next two weeks, then they are dead for this year.

This weekend or early next week would be an excellent time to ask your Delegate on the Economic Matters Committee, via a short email, to vote to advance these important bills!

Writing an email to support these bills is easy! By entering your return address on the right, you will be taken to a draft email that you can use (or modify) and then easily send to your Maryland Delegate.

Thank you for helping to advance these worthy bills by sending a quick, easy email of support to your Maryland Delegate.