The administration contends that an average household eventually would save $190 a year through reduced energy use, and that renewable power targets would add less than 1 percent to electric rates. Still, many lawmakers were worried.
The result: A two-year delay in ramping up renewable energy requirements to allow time for projects to come online, plus money diverted from conservation programs to small utility-bill rebates and additional aid to low-income families behind on their bills.
"We had to spend a lot of time in the session talking about more budget cuts, and we thought we'd be able to focus on problem-solving," said Malcolm D. Woolf, the director of the Maryland Energy Administration. "Everyone was a whole lot more sensitive to the economic impact of these bills."
Another priority of O'Malley and Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler - overhauling the state's 24-year-old law restricting bayshore development - has been weakened, in part because of the administration's desire for consensus from developers, environmentalists and state officials.
The administration accepted an amendment that leaves local governments in control of enforcing the law, but environmentalists concluded that other features of the bill, including sanctions against contractors who violate the law, were worth the trade-off.
"The environmental community has learned you can't expect it all," said Fred Kelly of the Severn Riverkeeper watchdog group. "We think we need to compromise a little bit more to get the laws actually enforced."
The Senate approved the bill Friday only after changing a key provision, reducing the proposed shoreline setback for new buildings in rural areas from 300 feet to 200 feet. The current law requires only a 100-foot setback. The House of Delegates accepted that change yesterday.
The bill facing the toughest slog may be the most far-reaching. The Global Warming Solutions Act would require the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2020, with a goal of 90 percent reduction by 2050. The original proposal made the 90 percent figure a requirement, but industry opposition got it scaled back to a goal.
Though not part of O'Malley's legislative agenda, he has embraced it. With more than 3,000 miles of shoreline, Maryland is particularly vulnerable to the sea-level rise expected from global warming, he has said.
