May 14, 2025 — Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed what he called “the most comprehensive piece of Chesapeake Bay legislation that Maryland has seen in years,” at a time when federal cuts threaten environmental programs for the estuary.
The Chesapeake Bay Legacy Act was signed Tuesday, one of 171 bills signed into law at the fourth and next-to-last bill signing ceremony following the 2025 legislative session.
The wide-ranging Legacy Act allots “up to $900,000 per year” to a new certification program for farmers who use sustainable practices that decrease runoff into the bay, establishes a water quality monitoring program to unify current testing efforts and aims to streamline oyster aquaculture leasing, among other provisions.
“At a time when we see how our federal administration has stepped back from protecting our air and our water, Maryland is stepping up,” Moore said.
The governor also signed an abortion grant program that will help fund abortion services for uninsured and underinsured individuals, and a bill allowing individuals with autism and other nonapparent conditions to add an identifying symbol to their state IDs. That, and Tuesday saw the approval of a new state mineral, chromite, and a new state cocktail, the Orange Crush.