The following is an op-ed piece from Delegates Kathy Szeliga and Ryan Nawrocki.
Welcome back to the 2023 End of Session Review, a continuation of last week’s article! This article outlines additional measures that took place during the Annapolis legislative session – some good and others not so much.
In March, Governor Moore announced that Maryland would move to electric cars only. The ban is phased in over several years such that Maryland will require 50% of the vehicles sold in the state to be electric within the next four years and will have a total ban on the sale of gasoline-powered cars by 2035. We oppose this.
The Clean Trucks Act of 2023 requires Maryland to adopt California standards for selling medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The Clean Trucks Act requires Maryland to adopt regulations that include the California Advance electric truck regulations, which currently require up to 75% of new mid- and heavy-duty vehicle sales to be electric vehicles by 2035. This will start in 2026, even if heavy-duty trucks do not exist for various industries. This terrible bill will increase the price of any goods delivered by an electric truck. We voted no.
One of Governor Moore’s legislative initiatives was the mandatory requirement to significantly raise Maryland’s minimum wage. His bill would have increased Maryland’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, effective Oct 1st, and increased the wage annually after that. However, the legislature amended the bill significantly. As a...
The Justice Department has fired back at the Southern Poverty Law Center after it filed an injunction against Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for saying the group didn’t share information from...