Annapolis, MD – Today, after another year of dangerous and costly flooding across the state, the Maryland legislature voted to override the veto of the Responding to Emergency Needs from Extreme Weather (RENEW) Act. The legislation allows the state Comptroller’s Office to calculate the financial harm of climate change in Maryland. The study is meant as a first step toward assessing fees on the world’s largest oil companies to help pay for such damages using Superfund-like pollution laws.

Days before the override vote, Maryland Governor Wes Moore changed his positioning on the study by advancing $270,000 to the Comptroller’s Office to jump-start the study in advance of the Legislative Session. He also committed to ensuring the additional funding for the study is included in the FY2027 budget for the Comptroller and finalized a memorandum of understanding to support the work.

RENEW was passed in April by a supermajority in the state legislature. The bill budgeted $500,000 dollars for a study to quantify the billions of dollars in harm to the state caused by global warming in recent decades.

Today’s vote codifies Maryland’s commitment to the RENEW cost calculation study, requiring the Comptroller, in coordination with other agencies, to conduct a study to assess the total cost of greenhouse gas emissions in the State by December 2026. Currently, only two states, Vermont and New York, have passed climate superfund legislation. Many more states are conducting cost calculations for climate change damages.

“The legislature’s overwhelming affirmation in support of the RENEW study shows that our elected officials are listening to their constituents and moving to act on the climate crisis that threatens all of us. State leaders have now taken a historic first step in ensuring Marylanders will not have to bear the heavy costs of a changing climate, instead making polluters pay for the damages they’ve caused,” said Jorge Aguilar, Southern Regional Director for Food & Water Watch.

“This is a great day for the fight against climate change in Maryland,” said Brittany Baker, Maryland Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund. “We are thrilled and appreciative of Governor Wes Moore’s funding plan to move the work forward. We are also grateful to the legislature for taking action on this issue as well. Governor Moore, Comptroller Lierman, and the General Assembly are all on the same page about the need to take concrete action to protect Marylanders from the worst impacts of climate change.”

“Today’s override affirms a simple principle: if you make a mess, you should help clean it up,” said Senator Katie Fry-Hester, Senate bill sponsor. “The RENEW Act is a taxpayer protection bill that recognizes climate change is already costing Marylanders hundreds of millions of dollars, and those costs are hitting real budget line items right now. This law gives Maryland the data we need to fully understand what climate change is costing us and to ensure taxpayers aren’t left carrying the burden alone. With this vote, the General Assembly affirmed that understanding the cost of climate change is essential to protecting Maryland’s taxpayers and communities.”

“We are happy to override the veto on the RENEW Act. This vital policy will help us to better understand the costs of climate change and how our state is being affected. The premise here is simple: if you make a mess, it is your responsibility to clean it up. The RENEW Act is the first step to understanding all the externalities of climate change facing our communities,” said Delegate David Fraser-Hidalgo, House bill sponsor.

“This override is about standing up for Marylanders — families facing flooding, higher bills, and the growing costs of climate change. I’m proud of my colleagues’ commitment to moving this bill forward. The RENEW Act helps ensure our communities get the support they deserve,” said House co-sponsor Delegate Adrian Boafo.

“The changing climate is an imminent threat to communities in Maryland,” said Delegate Lorig Charkoudian. “I am proud that the General Assembly moved forward with the veto override in order to do the prudent work of examining the costs of climate impacts in the state.”

“Working families have been bearing the brunt of expensive climate impacts for too long — from healthcare costs to power bills to insurance to taxes. Mothers Out Front applauds this first step on the path to ensuring that big polluters, not Maryland families, pay their fair share,”said Jenny Zimmer, Co-Executive Director of Mothers Out Front.

“The RENEW study will accelerate the path toward holding large polluters accountable for the environmental damage they’ve caused Marylanders, not to mention their disproportionate harm on our overburdened and underserved communities,” said Iman Habib, Climate Policy Analyst for Progressive Maryland. “We applaud legislators for their leadership and zeal for advancing this much-needed accountability measure and for prioritizing the health, environment, and well-being of Marylanders over corporate greed.”

“It was important to overturn this veto for the sake of future generations,” said Reverend Doctor Robert Turner of the Empowerment Temple.