[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6592786,"mediaKeyId","2766596-488e4bd918db74a7645d33214f0da1bb","parentId",2766596,"title","Senator Karen Lewis Young urges inclusion of energy analysis in data center impact study","audioSeconds",95,"startMs",23000,"endMs",118000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2766596-488e4bd918db74a7645d33214f0da1bb&start=23&end=118","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2766596-488e4bd918db74a7645d33214f0da1bb/thumbnail_23000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6592786/Maryland/Senator-Karen-Lewis-Young-urges-inclusion-of-energy-analysis-in-data-center-impact-study","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6592786-0f47340b056838c3b0b663219c300064/orig.mp4?Expires=1771110538&Signature=gdBuuZ4GHeByhuXyZpM9wx95jh1TNZMOrNOhd8EaPmrM-wW1JO-07m-Q4-t2-HjS8OAHXkej~yTB7JIeRmvdDxzZfFVEOgMm0N2JpB9tL8noY3-e~7Mimi~n7PPMfDuoXYNT2mRYxA5uZoQlTzBgmcmwFC2xZ6ceDNHHJXiJgNQjJoxpSpKTGL7j1WcTP9iQiQ~ZdUrhYAWO68h~6MBQg7xHgyUZaN6PzcEYtfP8GpqcPNmfswo-UubXlT1nP019dMzUMsgChqacsw~cIOjrkogVfGz3awN0mR1lOSaSHTlpgsZuQ3~v7aTeLriUvPaiSBDBsSKDL4I9l1PLHWE3xQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Maryland General Assembly - Economic Matters","date","2025-03-25T21:55:18.03Z","article","Sen. Karen Lewis Young of Frederick briefly described Senate Bill 116 — the cross-file of House Bill 270 — to the House Economic Matters Committee and urged retention of House language that would require an energy needs study as part of the data center impact analysis.

“For the record, Senator Karen Lewis Young from Frederick. I am here to briefly describe SB 1 16 data center impact analysis and report. It is the cross file of HB 2 70,” she said in opening remarks. Young told the committee the Senate and House versions differ primarily because the House bill requires a study on the energy needs of data centers and the Senate version had removed that requirement citing cost concerns. “I happen to agree with the house bill. The energy analysis is critical to this and having spoken to DLS, I am very confident that they can do the study of the economic analysis, the energy and environmental analysis within the scope of your fiscal note,” Young said.

A committee member agreed the energy analysis was the bill’s most important piece and indicated support for sending the House language back to the Senate. The hearing concluded without a recorded committee action on this bill in the provided transcript.

Committee minutes or subsequent reports would record any formal committee votes or amendments.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","ECM Committee Session, 3/25/2025 #1","oneSentenceSummary","Sen. Karen Lewis Young described SB 116 (cross-file HB 270), a data center impact analysis bill, and urged the committee to retain House language requiring an energy analysis; committee members stated the energy analysis was their principal concern.","taxTitle","Economic Matters Committee, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative, Maryland","taxId",15059,"location","Maryland","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6592791,"Maryland labor secretary asks committee to back RAISE Act to expand registered apprenticeships",264,1573000,1837000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2766596-488e4bd918db74a7645d33214f0da1bb&start=1573&end=1837","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2766596-488e4bd918db74a7645d33214f0da1bb/thumbnail_1573000.jpg","/articles/6592791/Maryland/Maryland-labor-secretary-asks-committee-to-back-RAISE-Act-to-expand-registered-apprenticeships","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6592791-5aa6ebae34a9de10e1a79ce82ea3b77c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771110538&Signature=l3NLiM0CLQcXurb6oxtF2CKkEe5a3CSoeHbkfqf8Fxr-HkPqHdSFKNfNJGvy2y~sSAj9EaO0hHv-HO09IXS~EVhuGCkO4xinpY7r4~3cIsaeXIAoLb9OjGG8Qt5JtSJl3xe3mpIAUiuzUhirYFpy-mIN-PsL9MxyibUTGCHCJyJrxtdlx9Dg4CvqFJMNsJnUUdaZZ40vOaLN~1ZLTH4~T9XJOLoe4WEdKFI~84W2oEk7X4MuENCMBGCDacxGShu4HtoQtsBKMdtJouLuLoJ20pLIBHGIRAmqCwHh7Xvopq4Lv4Nnt1MObOYjPZmPP5CNh88aWaQHWFDPAhsBGaksxg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Portia Wu, secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, told the House Economic Matters Committee the Governor’s RAISE Act, as amended by the Senate, would expand registered apprenticeship into new industries and communities and called for a favorable report on the bill.

“The changes establish a new advisory board, enhance tracking of program outcomes, and ensure timeliness and clarity for employers seeking to get apprenticeship programs approved,” Wu said, adding that 93 percent of apprentices retain employment after completing a program. She said the amended bill creates a “qualified intermediary” program to connect employers, apprentices and training providers, reintroduces a pay-per-apprentice incentive to offset startup costs, codifies a general 1-to-1 supervisor-to-apprentice ratio while providing an expedited pathway for nonhazardous occupations, and establishes the Maryland Office of Registered Apprenticeship Development.

Wu described the bill as a collaborative effort between the administration, union partners, legislators and employers and said the changes would preserve safety standards while removing barriers to apprenticeship adoption in nontraditional fields.

Ray Baker, Maryland director for the Baltimore-DC Building Trades, testified in support and said his organization had worked with the administration on the bill. “We support the bill with amendments, we urge a favorable report,” Baker said.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about the 1-to-1 ratio and whether licensure pathways (for example for plumbers) remained in the bill; Wu said the bill maintains safety standards for hazardous trades and that a specific auto-licensing section for plumbers had been removed based on building trades’ concerns. No committee vote was recorded in the transcript provided; Secretary Wu requested a favorable report.

The transcript shows the administration and a building trades representative on the record in support of the amended RAISE Act and answers to committee questions, but it does not record formal action by the committee on the bill.","Portia Wu, Maryland labor secretary, and building trades representatives urged House Economic Matters Committee support for the RAISE Act amendments to grow registered apprenticeship, create a new office and advisory board, and re-establish incentive funding for sponsors.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6592797,"Senator proposes compromise to let United Methodist congregations leave while requiring reimbursement for conference investments",1380,140000,1520000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2766596-488e4bd918db74a7645d33214f0da1bb&start=140&end=1520","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2766596-488e4bd918db74a7645d33214f0da1bb/thumbnail_140000.jpg","/articles/6592797/Maryland/Senator-proposes-compromise-to-let-United-Methodist-congregations-leave-while-requiring-reimbursement-for-conference-investments","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6592797-0e7836b846839f1f733e268e3e609aa1/orig.mp4?Expires=1771110538&Signature=oMsSziDstErd1QDqy-9I6HR8sy0I~zHCeX1lwFe3l08zLbYnRMcX-PQS57WK0qlj-lxDynQ6XtQHLmvjzPEovUw-2sq2P0f2L17TZqJPLuOK3yvaDizYGxiNyO2Ll6oocLWuSvguwS7jjw1YnAwvi~Y1LO8ntC0YnoInpBoJmLTEew~YMhrkr2dP~i7bgR6vOt-UMGnN5Knh3LCXZc3iqEQ6S~gEfM7aPge2j07HLrsMjTZ-JjAMlUFRVeEdg0aKxaFCsiKF4QYhWt1fyWKCDK10lUGhmLEFyep6CIQBxt7~MHOjAoctApxRl6UHJCmPW6dRLZlknNBCAKADMsEpsA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Sen. C. Anthony Muse, Maryland state senator representing Prince George’s County, urged the House Economic Matters Committee to report favorably on Senate Bill 586 with an amendment that would let local United Methodist congregations disaffiliate and retain ownership of their property provided they reimburse their conference for documented financial investments.

Muse said the amendment aims to address what he called an inequitable application of a trust clause that, he said, “has been carried out” in practice to require congregations to pay large sums in order to leave the denomination. “This amendment does not say that the Methodist Church is not owed anything,” Muse said. “It says if they are owed anything, it's gotta be paid off.”

The amendment, as Muse described it, would: require a disaffiliating local church to reimburse a conference for the total amount the conference invested in real property used by the congregation; credit any payments the local church previously made toward acquisition, maintenance or renovation against that balance; and require the conference to provide a full and transparent accounting of funds it contributed before determining the final reimbursement amount.

Muse told the committee he has letters in the record from congregations that say conferences demanded sums they could not pay. He cited Nichols Bell United Methodist Church in “Oedington, Maryland,” which, he said, received a bill for $2,500,000 that the congregation could not meet, and Clarks United Methodist Church, which he said was told it had to pay roughly half the building’s value (he cited a $1,500,000 figure in that example). Muse said some local churches “owe nothing” based on his conversations and that many congregations did not receive conference funds for roofs, furnaces or other capital work.

Committee members pressed Muse on specifics. Delegate Fisher asked whether conferences had provided canceled checks or other proof of what they actually invested; Muse replied, “From all of my studies, no. They have not done that at all.” A member asked whether recorded deed language might supersede the bill; Muse said most deeds are old and do not contain a recorded trust clause and that the trust understanding was imposed by church law and then translated into statute in some conferences. Another member asked about short repayment deadlines and negotiation options; Muse said timelines could be worked out and described some cases, which he said are in the court record, in which churches were given very brief windows to pay.

Muse described the amendment as a compromise intended to preserve property for congregations that paid for improvements while requiring reimbursement when conferences can demonstrate investment. He argued the amendment would help small, older congregations — often with 80 or fewer members and older congregants — that he said were being forced to choose between paying large sums or remaining in a denomination they no longer supported.

Muse also referenced a 1972 statutory change tied to the formation of the United Methodist Church and said that roughly 11 of the denomination’s conferences had implemented a property-trust approach. He told the committee he had shared an attorney general’s opinion that, in his view, supports the constitutionality of the proposed approach and said ongoing litigation would not be affected.

No formal vote was recorded during the hearing on the bill. Muse asked the committee to give the amendment a favorable report.

The record includes committee questioning but no committee direction recorded as an official action during the transcript provided. If the committee takes subsequent action, that would be reflected in later minutes or reports.","Sen. C. Anthony Muse sought a favorable report on an amendment to Senate Bill 586 that would allow local United Methodist churches to disaffiliate and retain property if they reimburse conferences for documented investments; witnesses and committee members questioned accounting, timelines and deed language.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Senator Karen Lewis Young urges inclusion of energy analysis in data center impact study

Maryland labor secretary asks committee to back RAISE Act to expand registered apprenticeships

Senator proposes compromise to let United Methodist congregations leave while requiring reimbursement for conference investments