This week, Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D) announced the selection of state Sen. Paul Pinsky (D-Prince George’s) to head the Maryland Energy Administration, creating a dramatic change at that state agency and a cascading set of dominoes that should shake up the leadership teams in both houses of the General Assembly.
Moore also announced that Mollie Byron, a seasoned government hand in the state, will serve as director of Intergovernmental Affairs for his administration.
After Moore’s announcement, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) unveiled his restructuring plan for the upper chamber, which will involve restructuring the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, with one of the broadest portfolios in the General Assembly, to the Senate Committee on Education, Energy and the Environment (EEE).
Rechristened, EEE will handle all energy and utilities-related legislation, to better reflect the intersection of energy and utilities policy with environment and climate change priorities. The Senate Finance Committee, which previously tackled energy and utility policy, will now have jurisdiction over all health occupations and alcoholic beverages legislation, aligning issues related to public health and business regulation.
Ferguson has selected Sen. Brian Feldman (D-Montgomery), the current vice chair of Finance, to head the EEE panel. Senate President Pro Tem Melony Griffith (D-Prince George’s) is his choice to chair Finance.
