Commentary

The Maryland General Assembly is considering comprehensive climate bills in the House and Senate (SB528 and HB708, HB806 and HB831). In evaluating these bills, we must recognize not just the tangible and immediate benefits – such as cleaner air and healthier transportation options – but also the substantial costs of inaction if they do not pass. The longer we take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the more real and significant the costs and the impacts become.

The climate crisis is not some distant future. It’s right here, right now, and taxpayers are already paying the price. Recent flooding in Ellicott City, Annapolis, Dorchester County and other locations around Maryland have led to extensive damage, millions of dollars in lost revenue, and mitigation plans with price tags in the tens of millions of dollars.

In this country, your ZIP code has a greater impact on quality of life than your genetic code. A big part of this is due to environmental impacts and the unequal distribution of pollution. We would all benefit from cleaner air and water, healthier food, improved equity and justice. And yet, we are not guaranteed these rights in the same way our speech and assembly are protected. Leaders in Annapolis have the opportunity this legislative session to give the power to the people by passing a constitutional amendment to protect a healthful environment for all Marylanders by passing the Environmental Human Rights Amendment.

As the effects of the coronavirus continue to reshape our state and our world, 2022 will see several factors accelerating the shift to a more digital, hybrid future. In the year ahead, there will be a continued focus on digital transformation as the driving force creating value for business owners. In 2022, it will be critical for companies to further digitize their offerings and operations using new and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and data analytics.

For nearly 60 years, U.S. law enforcement authorities have been required to advise suspects of their right not to self-incriminate. The Miranda Warning, including the phrase “you have the right to remain silent,” has become so ingrained in the culture that it’s a routine plot point on most TV crime dramas. But what happens when someone in police custody doesn’t really comprehend Miranda rights that cover not just a 5th Amendment right to stay silent but a 6th Amendment right to counsel? Such is often the case with juvenile defendants.

The number one job of government is to keep people safe. But the government has been failing to do its job in Baltimore. A recently-released report revealed that the number one cause of unexpected death of Baltimore children is homicide: 93% of youth killed by people who were not related to them were shot; 69% of the victims had been previously charged in the juvenile justice system, and 40% had been suspended from school at least twice in the last year. Guns are killing our young people, and kids who get into trouble at school are at greater risk of becoming murder victims themselves.

American history teaches that every occupant of the White House gets two presidencies: the one he planned for and the one that events thrust upon him. President Biden’s first State of the Union address was his opportunity to lay out how he proposes to lead through the presidency he has been forced to conduct by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s world-changing invasion of Ukraine.

The recent commentary by Jason Stanek, chair of the Maryland Public Service Commission, argues essentially that the PSC doesn’t need the General Assembly’s input as our state plans how to modernize the electricity distribution grid. Trust us, he suggests. While we respect the PSC’s role in overseeing Maryland’s utilities, I must disagree with his contention that legislative guidance isn’t appropriate.