Incentivizing Energy Efficiency in State Buildings.
Katelynne Cowart, Cody Knipfer, Ian Colrick, Jamie Grasing,
This policy will give agencies a portion of their savings realized by energy efficiency projects. This savings retention will serve as an incentive for agencies not normally doing energy efficiency projects to invest in smaller projects in their buildings.
Freedom is Free, Labor Isn’t: Bringing Awareness to Labor Trafficking
Brenna Dames, Louis Saint-Felix, Diana Parks, Ufuoma Agarin
Labor trafficking is an underaddressed and underreported issue that impacts Maryland greatly. We believe that a better informed community is the best asset to preventing and combating labor trafficking. It is our hope that, through a public awareness campaign, Maryland will become one of the leading states in combatting this grave and urgent global concern.
Valarie Austin, Kimberly Brewer, Ricci Conley, DaShante Smith, Cristina Fiorentino
In Maryland, the focal point of education dialogue at the state, local, and personal level is on academic learning, meaning that inadequate attention is warranted to the psychological well-being of the school community as a whole. Our recommendation is to expand the use of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support on a broader scale throughout the state. Namely, we recommend Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) as Maryland currently has 62% PBIS schools and could easily expand.
Amy Castignetti, Jennifer Guthrie, Christopher Frye,
The continuous advancement of wireless telecommunications technology opens the door to exciting economic growth opportunities for the State of Maryland. While the State of Maryland was previously unprepared for such rapid expansion, there is a serious need for future preparation in order to address important safety, liability, environmental and other community concerns associated with wireless telecommunications equipment and facilities while capitalizing on revenue. To solve these growing concerns to protect the State, the public and the environment, we recommend the formation of an intermodal telecommunications committee to create a new contract, classified as a Wireless Telecommunications Master Licensing Agreement, which every wireless telecommunications carrier, with interest in leasing on Maryland Department of Transportation property, must adhere to.
Community Gardens: Local Growth for a Sustainable Maryland
Ryan Belcher, Kerry Darragh, Kelly Gross, Mayhah Suri
In order to encourage the development and sustainability of community gardens and urban agriculture in Maryland, we propose the Governor’s Commission on Community Gardening (GCCG). GCCG will be an advocate for community agriculture in the state and will bring national attention to the work of Maryland’s gardens. GCCG will do this by creating resource guides, giving small grants, providing technical assistance, and other activities to strengthen and promote community gardening and agriculture.