Coal Community Transition Act (HB 66, SB 148)
At this time last year, Maryland had six coal-fired power plants with no plans to close. Burning coal for electricity pours heat-trapping climate pollution into our atmosphere, while also producing local air pollution that contributes to heart disease, asthma attacks, and makes respiratory viruses like COVID-19 more deadly.

In 2020, we worked with the Maryland Sierra Club on a bill that would have set a timeline for closing those plants and providing a transition fund for those workers and their communities. That bill was making progress, but before legislators could vote, the pandemic struck and the General Assembly closed.

Since that time, five of the six coal plants have closed or announced plans to close! We’re back with the same legislation this year, and it’s more important than ever that it passes. We need it in law that all six plants will close, and we also need to fund a just transition to cleaner jobs for those workers and their communities.

Together with artist Caryl Henry Alexander, we’re inviting you to imagine a Maryland where we no longer burn climate-damaging fossil fuels. Download Caryl’s art here, take a picture of yourself or take a screenshot on zoom, and send it to us. We’ve already begun sharing these pictures with state legislators to demonstrate that people of faith support this just transition legislation.