Maryland League of Conservation Voters Education Fund - Greening the Budget: Eight Policies

“Maryland LCV Education Fund works strategically behind the scenes to provide critical support to local, regional, and national environmental groups.”

-Neal Fitzpatrick, Audubon Naturalist Society

Greening the Budget: Eight Policies

The following eight policies would help Maryland address its budget problem and align the state’s budget priorities with our shared values on the environment.

Create a Green Fund. Nitrogen pollution from sewage treatment plants, agriculture and urban and suburban development render about 40 percent of the Chesapeake Bay uninhabitable for aquatic life each summer. A fee on new pavement and other impervious surfaces could raise as much as $100 million annually, providing funds for reducing pollution and cleaning up the bay.

Establish a wetlands permit fee. Wetlands protect water quality and provide valuable habitat for diverse species of plants and animals. Landowners who want to fill, alter or otherwise impact wetlands must receive a permit for their work. Currently, however, Maryland does not charge a fee for permits. The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has lost 40 percent of its staff who enforce laws protecting wetlands. Charging developers a license fee of $7,500 per acre would raise $3.6 million per year and allow MDE to add 34 employees to better protect wetlands.

Close the open space funding loophole. Maryland’s open space protection programs are funded by a 0.5 percent transfer tax paid whenever real estate changes ownership. However, wealthy corporate interests often dodge this tax by transferring ownership of property through limited liability corporations and other entities. Closing this loophole would raise $14 million for state government land conservation efforts and make the state’s tax system more equitable.

Increase the agricultural transfer tax. When agricultural land is sold for development, Maryland collects a transfer tax of 3 to 5 percent and uses the revenues to support land conservation efforts. Doubling the tax rate to 6 to 10 percent would create a greater disincentive to develop land and would raise $2.5 million for agricultural land preservation.

Stop the Intercounty Connector. The proposed 18-mile long six-lane freeway through Montgomery and Prince George’s counties will degrade water and air quality, destroy open space and add to global warming at a cost of $3 billion. Maryland should end plans to build this road and withdraw financial support for the project, saving $540 million in fiscal year 2009.

Increase fees on air pollution. Almost 90 percent of Marylanders live in counties where air pollution exceeds federal health standards for ozone and particulate matter. Budget cuts have limited the ability of the Maryland Department of the Environment to implement clean air regulations. An increase in the existing fee per ton of air pollution could raise $2.3 million for enforcement while discouraging excessive emissions.

End the coal mining tax credit. Maryland currently grants a $3 per ton tax credit for coal mined in Maryland, despite the air, water and global warming pollution caused by mining and burning coal. Ending the tax credit would save the state $7.7 million in fiscal year 2009.

Increase fees on solid waste. Marylanders send more than 7 million tons of waste to landfills and incinerators each year. The state does not charge a fee to help cover the cost of permitting and monitoring waste disposal facilities, and that expense must be covered by all taxpayers. A fee of $5 per ton would raise $35 million each year.