HB0979 Agriculture – Invasive Plant Species – Regulation (Biodiversity and Agriculture Protection Act)
Sponsored by Delegate Foley
Status In the House – Hearing 2/28 at 1:00 p.m.
For a further understanding of the bill being heard tomorrow afternoon – click on this link:
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0979
Then click on “Fiscal and Policy Note”. The FISCAL AND POLICY NOTE explains the bill in plain English (not legalese) and also discusses the fiscal costs that are estimated to be associated with the bill (if passed).
Meanwhile: It is IMPORTANT that after the hearings on 2/28 that the committee QUICKLY puts it to a committee vote to send it to the House of Delegates for a vote. The reason for this is that the bill MUST CROSS OVER TO THE SENATE by March 18th. If it does not, there is no guarantee that the bill will complete the entire process in time for SINE DIE (end of session). If it doesn’t get acted on by BOTH chambers, we say the bill died. It would then have to start the legislative process all over again in 2025.
SO it is important to reach out to COMMITTEE members now to ask them to please vote on the bill as soon as possible. Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay supports a positive vote, but the main thing here is that it get a committee vote by MARCH 18TH.
