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The MD Legislative session is over and Spring is here. Join the fun! Watch the Candidate's forum video recording. Ask Governor Hogan for an equitable clean 21st century transportation system. Plant a pesticide free lawn. Get outdoors on a hike or leisurely walk. Pull up some garlic mustard (and put it on your sandwich).
Join your local Sierra Club Group to get active with one of our efforts around the state.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Maryland Legislative Session 2018
The General Assembly's 2018 session is now the books! Let's celebrate our victories, learn from our disappointments, and rededicate ourselves to making Maryland a model for progressive environmental protections.
This year was a mixed bag of victories and disappointments in Annapolis. Overall, the Sierra Club submitted testimony on 47 bills; 15 of the 42 we supported were passed (a healthy .357 batting average), and none of the five we opposed were passed (we batted 1,000).
Read our blog on the session here
Please join us at the end of legislative session celebration Sunday May 20th.
Mark Posner, Legislative Chair
Video Recording of Gubernatorial Candidates Environmental Forum
On April 19th we co-hosted a Gubernatorial Candidate Forum with Maryland League of Conservation Voters and Maryland Matters at Peabody Heights Brewery in Baltimore.
Eight candidates running for Maryland Governor attended and answered questions about their positions on the environment & public health.
If you missed any of the event, see the full video of the forum posted here!
Zack Gerdes, Conservation Organizer
Invasive Weed of the Month
Garlic Mustard
Sierra Club interns and volunteers have been working hard removing fake buttercup (lesser celandine) from local parks. Now our focus is on Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata), a garden herb escaped from Europe that spreads throughout woodland areas and is easy to hand pull.
We need 100 volunteers at parks near the College Park office alone! Please join us at Magruder Park Saturday 5/19/18 or at a local park near you! Read more here.
Marc Imlay, Biodiversity Chair
Governor Hogan's plan to expand roads would increase traffic, air pollution, and climate change
Last fall, the Governor announced a $9.1 billion plan to add 4 express toll lanes to the Capital Beltway (I-495) in Maryland, I-270 between Frederick and I-495, and to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Sierra Club Maryland has a number of concerns with the highway expansion proposal.
Baltimore City Bans Polystyrene
Due to the dedicated work of the high school student-led group Baltimore Beyond Plastic, community residents and environmental groups, last week Baltimore City mayor Catherine Pugh signed into law a city-wide ban on polystyrene foam food containers. Baltimore City joins a number of local jurisdictions moving toward zero waste solutions that have instituted their own foam bans. The Maryland General Assembly has yet to pass a statewide foam ban.
Learn more and watch some of the recent news coverage here.
June 26, 2018 Statewide Primary Election - Things to Know
Offices up for election in 2018:
- Federal offices - U.S. Senator; Maryland members of the U.S. House of Representatives
- State and local offices - Governor; Attorney General; Comptroller; all General Assembly members; all county officials
Three options for voting:
- On Election Day at your local polling place (7 am to 8 pm)
- During the Early Voting period (Thursday, June 21 through Thursday, June 28; 10 am to 8 pm) (early voting information)
- By absentee ballot (information and instructions)
Voter registration (in order to vote in the June 26 election):
- Register to vote on or by June 5, OR
- At an Early Voting location, when you go to vote (to register during early voting, you must present a document that proves where you live - a MD driver's license or ID card, or a paycheck, bank statement, utility bill, or other government document with your name and address)
- Voter registration process
Your voter registration must affiliate you with a political party in order to vote in that party's primary on June 26.
Review your voter registration record & find your polling place
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