Kumar P. Barve

Kumar Barve was the first Indian American elected to serve in a state legislature in United States history. He has represented a Montgomery County district in the Maryland House of Delegates since 1990. He is the Chairman of House Environment and Transportation Committee. Recently, he was named the "Environmental Legislator of the Year" for his leadership in banning fracking.

Barve has been in legislative leadership for much of his career, serving as House Majority Leader from 2003-2014 and now as Chairman of the House Environment and Transportation Committee. His committee has oversight of the environment, land use, state ethics and transportation policy.

Barve’s groundbreaking legislative career has been highlighted by achievements in health care, technology and the environment. He was a primary architect of Maryland’s 1993 landmark reform of health insurance and was the prime sponsor of a later law that allowed patients to use physicians outside of their HMO network. As Chairman of a Technology Subcommittee, Barve’s work led to the creation of Maryland’s highly successful Technology Development Corporation, the state’s technology tuition assistance program and the early “e-commerce’ Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act which served as a guidepost for consumer protection in the then nascent world of online transactions. More recently, Barve’s environmental efforts resulted in a state moratorium on fracking and a revision to the state’s stormwater management law.

Barve, an accountant, also serves as the Chief Financial Officer of an environmental management company in Rockville, Maryland.

Kumar grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and attended Montgomery County Public Schools before graduating from Georgetown University. He lives in Rockville, Maryland with his wife, Maureen Quinn, who serves as a Commissioner on the Maryland Worker’s Compensation Commission.