CPA Brian Feldman picked to lead Maryland Senate’s Committee on Education, Energy, and the Environment

FROM BILL SHERIDAN, CAE

ANNAPOLIS — A year of change in Maryland’s General Assembly is ending with even more changes at the legislature’s highest levels, and this time a CPA is in the spotlight.

Sen. Brian Feldman, a Democrat representing District 15 in Montgomery County and one of just three CPAs in the General Assembly, has been chosen by Senate President Bill Ferguson to chair the Senate’s Committee on Education, Energy, and the Environment. Previously named the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, Feldman’s committee “will handle all energy and utilities-related legislation to develop policies that reflect the intersection of energy and utilities policy with environment and climate change policies,” according to CBS Baltimore. The committee also will oversee the licensing and regulation of Maryland businesses.

As committee chair, Feldman succeeds Sen. Paul Pinsky, who has been picked by Gov.-elect Wes Moore to lead the Maryland Energy Administration.

A longtime legislative friend of the accounting and finance profession and the MACPA, Feldman had most recently served as vice chair of the Senate Finance Committee. He has served as a member of the Senate since 2013. Before that, he served as a member of Maryland’s House of Delegates from 2003 to 2013.

“I look forward to the steady leadership that Sen. Feldman will undoubtedly bring to the newly configured EEE committee,” Ferguson said. “As the vice chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Feldman has demonstrated the ability to lead on complex legislation and work across the aisle.”

“We’re so proud to see a member of our profession take on such a prominent leadership role in our state’s legislature,”

MACPA CEO Rebekah Brown added. “As a CPA, Sen. Feldman has the experience and foresight necessary to lead the Senate’s Committee on Education, Energy, and the Environment, and we look forward to continue working with him on important matters that impact our members, our business community, and Maryland at large.”

A second CPA and MACPA member, Sen. Arthur Ellis, a Democrat representing the 28th District in Charles County, has been appointed by Ferguson to serve on the Senate Finance Committee.

A complete list of Ferguson’s Senate committee assignments is found on the Maryland Matters website (bit.ly/ MDappointments).

Bill Sheridan, CAE, is editor of The Statement and chief communications officer with the MACPA.