County committee hears MACo briefing on three presiding-officer energy bills and two data-center measures

Prince George’s County Council’s committee of the whole heard a briefing Feb. 24 from Dominic Pushko of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) on three presiding-officer energy bills and two separate data‑center bills, and was warned that one solar-siting proposal could reduce local land‑use authority and have measurable fiscal impacts on counties.

MACo’s overview outlined three energy bills that staff said will be the main vehicles for statewide energy policy this session and two bills dealing with data-center approvals and impact studies. “There are 3 really big bills this year, coming from the presiding officers,” Pushko told the committee, and MACo’s positions range from “no position” to “support with amendments” to “opposed.”

Why it matters: Council members pressed MACo on how the measures would affect local planning, public safety and county revenues. The most contested provision, MACo said, would change how solar projects are sited and taxed and could limit counties’ authority over setbacks, screening and other land-use protections. MACo also raised alarm about applying those same siting rules wholesale to utility-scale battery storage without explicit battery‑safety or fire‑suppression standards.

Mos…