SB 781

Environmental Permits - Requirements for Burden Analysis, Issuance and Renewal, and Public Participation (Cumulative Harms for Environmental Restoration for Improving Shared Health - CHERISH Our Communities Act)

Sponsor: Benjamin Brooks (District 10)Committee: Education, Energy, and the EnvironmentSubject: EnvironmentStatus: Hearing 3/03 at 1:00 p.m. (as of Sep 4, 2026)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Requiring an application for the issuance or renewal of a covered individual environmental permit for a site or facility located within an at-risk census tract after a certain date to include in the permit application a report describing the environmental and public health burdens in the at-risk census tract; requiring the Department of the Environment to issue a determination as to whether approving a covered individual environmental permit will cause or contribute to adverse environmental or public health stressors; etc.

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Testimony (121)

MGA witness list

FAV 105FavorableFWA 2Favorable with amendmentsUNF 13UnfavorableINFO 1Information only

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Bucic, Sarah	Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE)	Written (PDF)
FAV	Brown, Jim	Audubon Mid-Atlantic	Written (PDF)
FAV	Porter, Phylicia	Baltimore City Council District 10	Written (PDF)
FAV	Krieger, Betsy	Be the Change Bmore	Written (PDF)
FAV	Dunning, Bryan	Center for Progressive Reform	Written (PDF)
FAV	pool, walkiria	Centro de Apoyo Familiar	Oral
FAV	Stegman, Matt	Chesapeake Bay Foundation	Written (PDF)
FAV	Baker, Brittanylobbyist	Chesapeake Climate Action Network	Written (PDF)
FAV	Gately, Ursula	Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility	Written (PDF)
FAV	Ibarra, Gabriela	Chispa	Written (PDF)
FAV	Kunze, Jenniferlobbyist	Clean Water Action	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Demiray, Sonia	Climate Communications Coalition	Written (PDF)
FAV	McGilvray, Laurie	Climate Justice Wing of the Maryland Legislative Coalition	Written (PDF)
FAV	Wilkinson, nanci	Climate Mobilization Montgomery County	Position only
FAV	Burke, Camille	Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities	Written (PDF)
FAV	Schoppert Devereux, Christina	Community Law Center, Inc.	Written (PDF)
FAV	Thompson, Tiffany	Community of Curtis Bay Association	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Hession, Melody	Delaware-Maryland Synod of the ELCA	Written (PDF)
FAV	Stewart, Frances	Elders Climate Action Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Norton, Ruth Ann	Green & Healthy Homes Initiative	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	N/A, Healthy Climate Maryland	Healthy Climate Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Smith, Virginia	IndivisibleHoCoMD	Written (PDF)
FAV	Novey, Joelle	Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA)	Written (PDF)
FAV	Singer, Elizabeth	Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Federation of Howard County	Written (PDF)
FAV	Heaney, Christopher	Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Wills-Karp, Marsha	Johns Hopkins University	Written (PDF)
FAV	Hunter, Caseylobbyist	League of Women Voters of Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Agarin, Ufuoma O.	Legislative Black Caucus Of Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Webster, Phil	Legislative body for the Unitarian Universalist faith, C/O Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis	Written (PDF)
FAV	Feighner, Liz	Liz Feighner, self	Position only
FAV	Tulkin, Joshlobbyist	MD Sierra Club	Written (PDF)
FAV	Guilfoil, Mona	MD Third Act or Marylanders for Data Center Reform	Position only
FAV	Alvarez, Carlos	MDLCV	Written (PDF)
FAV	Cruz, Kobe	MDLCV	Written (PDF)
FAV	De Leon Cabrera, Casandra	MDLCV	Written (PDF)
FAV	Escobar, Cinthia	MDLCV	Written (PDF)
FAV	Lopez, Roberto	MDLCV	Written (PDF)
FAV	Manzanares, Jaylyn	MDLCV	Written (PDF)
FAV	Montufar, Nathaly	MDLCV	Written (PDF)
FAV	Simon, Robert	Maryland Catholics for Our Common Home	Written (PDF)
FAV	Bartock, Laura	Maryland Climate Partners	Written (PDF)
FAV	Atkinson, Aneca	Maryland Department of the Environment	Oral
FAV	Baker, Jeremy D	Maryland Department of the Environment	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	McIlwain, Serena	Maryland Department of the Environment	Oral
FAV	Tucker, Walter	Maryland Episcopal Public Policy Network	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Rehr, Rebeccalobbyist	Maryland League of Conservation Voters	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Plante, Cecilia	Maryland Legislative Coalition	Written (PDF)
FAV	Bogdan, Henrylobbyist	Maryland Nonprofits	Position only
FAV	Brooks, Benjamin	Maryland State Senate	Written (PDF)
FAV	Laurens, Matthew	Matthew Laurens	Written (PDF)
FAV	Kinsey, Kathy	Mobilize Frederick	Written (PDF)
FAV	Hegarty, Dawn	Myself	Written (PDF)
FAV	Greene, Susan	Nabbs/Stoney Creek resident	Written (PDF)
FAV	Ostdahl, Maggielobbyist	National Aquarium	Written (PDF)
FAV	McCarthy, Angie	Nature Forward	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Aubourg, Matthew	On behalf of Johns Hopkins Environmental Health and Engineering Students and Postdocs	Written (PDF)
FAV	Duckett-Randolph, Neka	Out 4 Justice	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Mansour, Erinn Camp	Patapsco Friends Meeting	Written (PDF)
FAV	Habib, Imanlobbyist	Progressive Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Boies, Sharon	Protect Our Streams	Position only

Showing 60 of 121

Organizations on record

Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE)FAV 1

Audubon Mid-AtlanticFAV 1

Baltimore City Council District 10FAV 1

Be the Change BmoreFAV 1

Brandywine | TB Southern Region Neighborhood Coalition / Executive Community Citizen's Board (ECCB)UNF 1

CEEJH INCFWA 1

Center for Progressive ReformFAV 1

Centro de Apoyo FamiliarFAV 1

Chesapeake Bay FoundationFAV 1

Chesapeake Climate Action NetworkFAV 1

Chesapeake Physicians for Social ResponsibilityFAV 1

ChispaFAV 1

Clean Water ActionFAV 1

Climate Communications CoalitionFAV 1

Climate Justice Wing of the Maryland Legislative CoalitionFAV 1

Climate Mobilization Montgomery CountyFAV 1

Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable CommunitiesFAV 1

Community Law Center, Inc.FAV 1

Community of Curtis Bay AssociationFAV 1

Delaware-Maryland Synod of the ELCAFAV 1

Delmarva Chicken AssociationUNF 1

Elders Climate Action MarylandFAV 1

Green & Healthy Homes InitiativeFAV 1

Healthy Climate MarylandFAV 1

IndivisibleHoCoMDFAV 1

Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA)FAV 1

Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Federation of Howard CountyFAV 1

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthFAV 1

Johns Hopkins UniversityFAV 1

League of Women Voters of MarylandFAV 1

Legislative Black Caucus Of MarylandFAV 1

Legislative body for the Unitarian Universalist faith, C/O Unitarian Universalist Church of AnnapolisFAV 1

Liz Feighner, selfFAV 1

Maryland Asphalt AssociationUNF 1

Maryland Association of Counties (MACo)UNF 1

Maryland Association of Municipal Wastewater AgenciesUNF 1

Maryland Building Industry AssociationUNF 1

Maryland Catholics for Our Common HomeFAV 1

Maryland Chamber of CommerceUNF 1

Maryland Climate PartnersFAV 1

Maryland Department of the EnvironmentFAV 3

Maryland Environmental ServiceFWA 1

Maryland Episcopal Public Policy NetworkFAV 1

Maryland Farm BureauUNF 1

Maryland League of Conservation VotersFAV 1

Maryland Legislative CoalitionFAV 1

Maryland NonprofitsFAV 1

Maryland State SenateFAV 1

Matthew LaurensFAV 1

Mayor's Office of Government RelationsUNF 1

MD Sierra ClubFAV 1

MD Third Act or Marylanders for Data Center ReformFAV 1

MDLCVFAV 7

Mobilize FrederickFAV 1

MTBMAUNF 1

MyselfFAV 1

Nabbs/Stoney Creek residentFAV 1

NAIOP MarylandUNF 1

National AquariumFAV 1

Nature ForwardFAV 1

Office of the Attorney GeneralINFO 1

On behalf of Johns Hopkins Environmental Health and Engineering Students and PostdocsFAV 1

Out 4 JusticeFAV 1

Patapsco Friends MeetingFAV 1

Progressive MarylandFAV 1

Protect Our StreamsFAV 1

Reconnecting Communities in West Baltimore Coalition, CorporationFAV 1

Riviera BeachFAV 1

Rock CreekFAV 1

Rock Creek NeighborhoodFAV 1

SB7 CoalitionFAV 1

SELFFAV 1

Sentinels of Eastern Shore HealthFAV 1

South Baltimore Community Land TrustFAV 1

St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic ChurchFAV 1

Unitarian Universalist Environmental Justice MinistryFAV 1

YearFAV 1

Registered lobbyists who testified

FAVBaker, BrittanyChesapeake Climate Action NetworkRegistered for: Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund

FAVKunze, JenniferClean Water ActionRegistered for: Clean Water Action

FAVHunter, CaseyLeague of Women Voters of MarylandRegistered for: League of Women Voters of Maryland

FAVTulkin, JoshMD Sierra ClubRegistered for: Sierra Club Maryland Chapter

FAVRehr, RebeccaMaryland League of Conservation VotersRegistered for: Maryland League of Conservation Voters

FAVBogdan, HenryMaryland NonprofitsRegistered for: Maryland Nonprofits

FAVOstdahl, MaggieNational AquariumRegistered for: National Aquarium

FAVHabib, ImanProgressive MarylandRegistered for: Progressive Maryland

UNFMiddleton, GraysonDelmarva Chicken AssociationRegistered for: Delmarva Chicken Association

UNFOchsenhirt, LisaMaryland Association of Municipal Wastewater AgenciesRegistered for: Maryland Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies; Maryland Municipal Stormwater Association…

UNFGraf, LoriMaryland Building Industry AssociationRegistered for: Maryland Building Industry Association

UNFAllen, HannahMaryland Chamber of CommerceRegistered for: Maryland Chamber of Commerce

UNFHough, TylerMaryland Farm BureauRegistered for: Maryland Farm Bureau