Maryland is putting more than $28.5 million behind electric school buses, transit fleets, and charging equipment across the state, with Anne Arundel County Public Schools and Baltimore City among the biggest local winners. The funding covers 63 grants and 1,903 rebates spread across five state programs, aimed at cutting transportation emissions as gas prices tick upward nationwide.
Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland Energy Administration announced the funding package, according to The MoCo Show, which reported that the money will support electric school buses, EV charging equipment, and medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles. In Anne Arundel County, Jubb's Bus Service received more than $1.5 million to add five electric school buses serving Anne Arundel County Public Schools, per the same report. That grant alone is projected to eliminate more than 800 metric tons of lifetime greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Maryland Governor's Office.
“The administration is determined to use innovative solutions to reduce the burden on Maryland's schools, businesses, and families as gas prices rise around the country,” Moore said, per the outlet's report. The MoCo Show noted the broader goal: expanding access to clean and safe transportation, protecting the environment, and saving money at the pump.
Baltimore's Buses and Resiliency Hubs Get a Boost
Baltimore City is seeing some of the largest allocations in the round. A Yankee Line will receive $2.5 million to add six electric transit buses in the city, the report states. Separately, Baltimore City community resiliency hubs will receive $950,000 to support 10 bidirectional electric vehicles, according to the same coverage.
Additional funding will support electric vehicles and charging infrastructure at multifamily properties, universities, municipalities, and the National Aquarium, the outlet reported. Baltimore has already seen clean-energy upgrades woven into other local projects: a Park Heights senior housing renovation earlier this year added EV charging during a $15.8M revamp.
The Legal and Regulatory Backdrop
The grants arrive as Maryland works toward legally mandated climate targets. Under the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, the state must cut statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 60% below 2006 levels by 2031 and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2045, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment. Transportation remains one of the largest sources of emissions the law targets, which helps explain why school buses and transit fleets are getting direct state dollars.
At the same time, the state has shown flexibility on stricter vehicle-sales mandates. In April 2025, Governor Moore issued an executive order delaying penalty enforcement against automakers that miss zero-emission vehicle sales targets for Model Years 2027 and 2028 under California's Advanced Clean Cars II rules, according to SEMA. State officials cited federal funding pauses, trade tariffs, and lagging charging infrastructure as reasons for easing those penalties on manufacturers. Maryland's move mirrored regional trends, as Hoodline previously reported when Massachusetts paused its own EV mandate and Virginia repealed the standards outright in 2024.
New Rules for Chargers and Rebates
Consumer-facing rules have also shifted this year. Effective July 1, Maryland House Bill 969 requires all retail electric vehicle charging stations to bill drivers strictly by kilowatt-hours consumed rather than time spent plugged in, while requiring ancillary fees to be itemized on receipts, as Hoodline reported in its earlier roundup of Maryland's July 1 law changes. For homeowners, the Maryland Energy Administration updated its Residential Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Rebate Program in July to cover 50% of Level 2 charger installation costs up to $700, while ending commercial charger incentives under that residential rebate line, according to the agency.
Commercial and fleet operators now have a separate path: the Maryland Energy Administration's FY27 Medium-Duty and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicle Grant Program opened applications in July with an initial budget of $10 million for vehicles and $2.5 million for charging infrastructure. Buyers of qualifying plug-in electric vehicles can also claim a state excise tax credit of up to $3,000 for vehicles priced at $50,000 or less, titled between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2027, per the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Meanwhile, a federal tax credit that covered up to 30% of charger installation costs in qualifying low-income or rural census tracts expired for equipment placed into service after June 30, 2026, narrowing one avenue of support just as the state ramps up its own grant programs.
The Maryland Department of Transportation is also chasing federal highway dollars, having issued its Round 3 Request for Proposals under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program in March to expand high-speed charging corridors along major state highways. Together, the announcements suggest Maryland is trying to build out charging access and fleet electrification on multiple fronts at once, even as it eases pressure on automakers' sales targets in the near term.
