Fighting for Our Environment

Emily believes that every legislative issue must be examined through the long-term lens of how it impacts the environment. If reelected, she will continue to pursue legislation requiring the Department of Legislative Services to include as part of their analysis of each bill the impact the measure would have on the environment and climate change. Currently, the Department is required to evaluate every bill’s impact on the state budget. Analyzing a bill’s impact on the budget alone does not provide legislators adequate information to understand the deep impact that an effort could have on slowing or accelerating the rate of climate change. This information could be critical to ensuring that every lawmaker has the opportunity to evaluate the long-term impact of policies enacted at the state level.

As a public health advocate, Emily is especially passionate about clean air, clean water, and investing in reliable public transportation. Urban communities like many areas of Montgomery County, including District 18, play a large role in reducing their impact on climate change. The state must offer support to our urban communities as they adapt to climate change that is underway. In order to mitigate some of the adverse public health impacts, Maryland must invest in reliable public transportation systems in our urban areas, while improving walkability of communities. This will help reduce harmful emissions, which are a large contributor to urban pollution. In addition, the state can offer incentives to local urban areas to use heat-resistant construction materials and reflective surface coatings for new construction, as well as increasing vegetative cover on new and existing buildings, along with other green infrastructure. This will aide in improving resiliency and adaptation to climate change in our urban settings.

As your Delegate, Emily has passed laws to increase composting throughout the state and is an active member of the House of Delegates’ Pathway to Zero Waste Legislative Workgroup. She has also passed legislation unanimously through the House to bring the business community to the table to partner to reach our climate mitigation goals.

If reelected, she will continue to work to advance a variety of environmentally friendly policy issues currently under consideration in the House of Delegates.