Crossover Update
Crossover Day is March 23rd this year. Legislation that passes one chamber and “crosses over” to the opposite chamber by this date has the best chance of passing successfully during the 2026 legislative session. We are tracking over two dozen bills this session. Here are where some of our legislative priorities stand after crossover this week.
HB331/SB342: Beverage Container Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Program has not had a work session or a vote in the House or Senate, but there is strong support from cosponsors and momentum from last year’s favorable vote in the House Environment and Transportation Committee. Bottle bills are proven policies to reduce litter and boost recycling rates beyond what curbside recycling programs can achieve because they add a financial incentive (a refundable 10 to 15 cent deposit) for people to return their empty beverage containers for recycling.
On-Farm Organics & Wasted Food Reduction and Diversion Grants (HB429/SB599) passed the House and Senate respectively and each bill crossed over. This will create a grant program to expand on-farm composting, food waste prevention, and edible food recovery through the Department of Agriculture. This bill was amended to add a $250,000 annual appropriation to fund grants and to remove the Department of the Environment grant programs and transitions from single-use to reusable food service-ware.
State Yard Waste Composting & Prohibition on Disposal in Plastic (HB164) passed the House and had a hearing in the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee (EEE). The EEE Committee needs to vote favorable and pass this bill to the floor of the Senate. This would prohibit yard waste from state buildings and highways from being disposed in single-use plastic containers and would also require certain state yard waste to be recycled or composted.
Prohibition on Beverage Container Flexible Plastic Ring Connectors (HB92) would prohibit sales of beverage containers connected by plastic ring connectors that can entrap wildlife and break apart into microplastics. This is still in the House Environment and Transportation Committee and did not cross over.
Food Product Labeling Requirements HB410/SB546 standardizes food date labels to clarify food safety and quality dates and help Marylanders prevent food waste and save money. HB410 passed the House and crossed over to the Senate Finance Committee where it needs a favorable vote.
We are also continuing our work on Maryland's Packaging Advisory Committee helping to implement the landmark extended producer responsibility ("EPR") for packaging legislation that passed last year (SB901). That legislation was crafted to improve recycling programs and incentivize more sustainable product packaging while explicitly leaving open an option for a future bottle bill. The Advisory Committee is working with the Department of the Environment to inform the next phase of regulations to implement this program. We recently submitted comments on implementing reuse opportunities in the new program, and we submitted formal comments on the first phase of regulations, including draft regulations defining covered materials and advisory committee structure.
Maryland's legislative session ends in April and we have just a few more weeks to get bills across the finish line. After session we will debrief where we stand on our plastic reduction priorities and begin to build our coalitions for next year’s session. We are doing everything we can to educate our legislators to enable action on effective, systemic policies to reduce plastic pollution and eliminate litter.
