Maryland National Guard urges creation of state mobilization fund to speed deployments
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Summary
At a committee hearing, Brig. Gen. Andrew Collins urged lawmakers to approve House Bill 896 to create a non‑lapsing state active duty mobilization fund so the Maryland National Guard can deploy personnel, maintain vehicles and communications, and buy critical supplies without waiting for post‑event reimbursements.
Brigadier General Andrew Collins, deputy adjutant general of the Maryland National Guard, told the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee that House Bill 896 would let the adjutant general access a dedicated, non‑lapsing fund to begin state active duty mobilizations immediately, rather than waiting for reimbursements after an emergency.
“This bill ensures funding for the known unknowns,” Collins said in his opening remarks, urging the committee to issue a favorable report on the measure. He told the panel the fund would cover personnel pay and allowances, feeding while troops are on orders, upkeep of essential vehicles and communication systems, and procurement of “critical critical supplies such as fuel and food.”
Collins described how state active duty mobilizations are triggered: local governments request assistance through the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, and the National Guard supplements local capabilities when needed. “We put soldiers on state active duty orders to go and respond in the local communities,” he said, and added that small teams activated for one incident may expand quickly to cover larger geographic needs, pointing to recent snowstorms that required statewide response.
Senator Carrozza asked Collins to summarize the Guard’s response on the Eastern Shore during the recent storms. Collins said requests begin at the local level and are routed through MDEM; if jurisdictions cannot handle an incident, the Guard is called in on state active duty and expands to meet demand. “We’re always ready and always there, and that’s what this bill addresses,” Collins said.
The hearing record contains no committee vote on House Bill 896; Chair Feldman closed the hearing after questions and noted the committee would move on to other matters. The bill’s supporters say a standing fund would reduce operational delays and logistical gaps that arise when the military department must wait for after‑the‑fact reimbursements.
