Republican Governor Larry Hogan (a fracking supporter) took a pass on vetoing a two year Fracking Moratorium that had passed by veto proof majority in the state House and a smaller margin in the State Senate, allowing the measure to become law without Hogan's signature.
Maryland’s Republican governor just let a fracking moratorium become law
By John Light
A bill to put a two-year moratorium on fracking in Maryland finally became law at the end of the day on Friday.
On Friday night, his 30-day window to approve or veto the moratorium expired. Hogan said he wouldn’t veto it but wouldn’t sign it either.
That means that through October 2017, the Maryland Department of Environment will be prohibited from issuing permits to allow drillers to frack for natural gas within the state, part of which sits atop the Marcellus Shale. The bill extends what had essentially been a de facto moratorium on fracking put in place during the administration of the previous governor, Martin O’Malley (D).
The law’s backers in the General Assembly, some of whom pushed for a longer, eight-year moratorium, said the the state will now have time to gather more information about fracking’s impacts.