Important Bill Hearing Tomorrow: Prohibition on Releasing a Balloon Into the Atmosphere (HB 391)
Did you know that you can release balloons into the atmosphere on purpose in much of Maryland, and it isn’t considered littering? If you throw trash on the ground, it’s clearly littering and you could be fined, but let a balloon float away only to land on the ground or in a waterway a bit later and it’s still okay if you’re outside of Queen Anne’s, Wicomico, or Montgomery Counties. House Bill 391, Sponsored by Delegate Wayne Hartman, seeks to change that. If enacted into law, HB 391 would prohibit the knowing release of balloons into the atmosphere, with a $250 fine for violations. The public bill hearing in the House Environment and Transportation Committee is on Friday, January 15th at 1:30pm, and will be live streamed on YouTube. Here’s the committee calendar with links if you want to tune in. Trash Free Maryland will be testifying in favor of HB 391, and our written testimony is embedded below. Let’s make 2021 the year we stop harming the environment through balloon litter in Maryland!