Kumar Barve
Kumar P. Barve | |
|---|---|
| कुमार प्रभाकर बर्वे | |
| Chair of the Maryland Public Service Commission | |
| Assumed office January 12, 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Frederick Hoover |
| Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 17th district | |
| In office January 9, 1991 – May 1, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Mary H. Boergers |
| Succeeded by | Ryan Spiegel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kumar Prabhakar Barve September 8, 1958 Schenectady, New York, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Maureen Quinn |
| Alma mater | Georgetown University (BS) |
| Occupation | Financial officer |
Kumar Prabhakar Barve (Marathi: कुमार प्रभाकर बर्वे; born September 8, 1958) is an American politician who has served as the chair of the Maryland Public Service Commission since 2026. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing district 17 in Montgomery County, from 1991 to 2023. He was the first Indian-American to be elected to a state legislature in the United States. From 2002 to 2015, Barve served as Majority Leader of the House of Delegates.
His legislative work focused largely on protecting the environment, improving health care, and the promotion of the high-tech industry in Maryland. In 2015, he was appointed to chair the House Environment and Transportation Committee, which oversees transportation, the environment, agriculture, ethics, and housing and real property law. He sponsored both the 1995 Health Access Act that place limits on HMOs for the first time and legislation that created the Technology Development Corporation of Maryland.
He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2016 in Maryland's 8th congressional district, losing the Democratic Primary to the eventual winner, State Senator Jamie Raskin.