Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Maryland Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Fund Amendment (2016)
| Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Fund Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic State and local government budgets, spending and finance | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Maryland Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Fund Amendment was not put on the November 8, 2016, ballot in Maryland as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The measure, upon voter approval, would have created a Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund.[1]
The purpose of the trust fund was to help the state meet goals established in the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement. The fund would be used to finance "nonpoint source pollution control projects."[1] According to the EPA, "nonpoint source pollution" is pollution that does not originate from a concise location or operation, but from "land runoff, precipitation, atmospheric deposition, drainage, seepage or hydrologic modification." Examples of "nonpoint source pollution" include runoff from "excess fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides" in agricultural areas and "oil, grease and toxic chemicals" in urban areas.[2]
Text of measure
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article III, Maryland Constitution
The proposed amendment was designed to add a Section 53A. to Article III of the Maryland Constitution.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Maryland Constitution
A 60 percent majority vote in both chambers of the Maryland State Legislature was required to refer the amendment to the ballot. The Maryland Senate unanimously approved the amendment on March 17, 2015.[3]
The Maryland Legislature's 2015 session ended on April 13, 2015, without the bill passing both chambers. Legislators had the opportunity to reintroduce the bill during the 2016 legislative session, which was projected to begin on January 13, 2016, and run through April 11, 2016.
See also
Footnotes
| ||||||||||||||
 |
State of Maryland Annapolis (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
