Welcome to the Kent County Chamber of Commerce Legislative Website.
ISSUES: This information is posted to inform the reader. We will provide addresses of legislators to whom you can write, should the issue be of interest to you. We encourage your comments and thoughts and will publish them as appropriate. The Kent County Chamber does not generally take a stand on an issue. If the Board of Directors feels such is needed, we will state such at the beginning of the issue statement.
PLEASE NOTE: If there is an issue that you would like to present for publication on this site, or if you have any questions about the information presented, please contact: Cindy Genther: 410-810-2968; kentchamber@verizon.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Melissa Schwartz
May 14, 2008
MIKULSKI, COLLEAGUES TAKE 1ST STEP TOWARD
GAS PRICE RELIEF
“We want to make sure we keep America rolling and help roll back these prices.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) today applauded the Senate’s passage of a provision to suspend the filling of the 97-percent-full Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) through December 2008, to help increase supply and lower prices. The amendment, which passed with an impressive 97-1 vote, could result in as much as a 5 cent reduction at the gas pump. A stand alone version of the amendment has been introduced in the House of Representatives, with a vote expected this week.
“The American public needs relief – real solutions to what we are going to do to help them as they struggle with rising gas prices. We know what it means to their businesses and their families,” said Senator Mikulski. “Instead of being able to concentrate on raising their families, parents are gripped by the fear of rising gas prices. We know that for the trucks delivering food and products to the market, prices continue to go up. Even delivering Meals on Wheels will soon be a reach for a volunteer. We want to make sure we keep America rolling and help roll back these prices.”
Since President Bush came to office, gas prices have more than doubled, the Big Oil companies have made more than half a trillion dollars in profits and the United States is even more dependent on oil. Gas prices in Maryland have increased by $2.18 per gallon, an increase of 153 percent. The Department of Energy estimates that families, businesses and farmers in Maryland will spend $464 million more on gasoline in May 2008 than they spent in January 2001.
The Administration places between 70,000 and 80,000 barrels of oil a day underground in the SPR, despite some estimates that it is 97 percent full. The Senate’s amendment allows filling to resume when the 90 day average price of crude oil recedes to $75 or less.
As congressional Democrats continue to propose alternatives to bring down gas prices, Senator Mikulski is looking to other options to ease pressure on Marylanders faced with rising costs. As Chair of the Maryland delegation and a senior member of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Mikulski will focus her efforts in the subcommittee on providing a continued federal investment in Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and Maryland’s MARC Commuter Rail System and other forms of mass transit that are safe for the commuter, cost efficient for the consumer and environmentally sound.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Melissa Schwartz
May 7, 2008 202-228-1122
CHAIRWOMAN MIKULSKI ANNOUNCES RESTORED FUNDING FOR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT IN EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL
Fulfills her promise to stand up for cops on the beat
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee that funds local law enforcement through the Department of Justice (DOJ), today announced that she has succeeded in her fight to provide an additional $490 million for Byrne formula grants. Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert C. Byrd (D-W. Va.) will convene a full Committee markup tomorrow, where the final details of the bill will be released and a vote will be held.
“I have heard from state and local police around the country that the consequences of these funding cuts will be fewer cops on our streets fighting gangs, drugs, and child predators and fewer prosecutions of criminals,” said Senator Mikulski. “We have an obligation to keep our communities safe from violent crime. I am proud to have fought to restore this critical funding for our cops on the beat.”
Chairwoman Mikulski included $660 million for Byrne grants in the 2008 Senate-passed CJS spending bill, but that was reduced to $170 million in the final 2008 omnibus spending bill in the face of a presidential veto threat. The supplemental funding will restore the full $660 million in fiscal year 2008. The effort to restore funding has had bipartisan support, with 56 Senators advocating for the increase.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Melissa Schwartz
May 8, 2008
MIKULSKI DELIVERS ON PROMISE TO MARYLAND NATIONAL GUARD, MEMBERS NATIONWIDE
Emergency supplemental fully funds reintegration programs for returning members
of the National Guard and Reserve
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today announced the emergency supplemental package includes $65.4 million to fully fund the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program for National Guard members and Reservists returning from combat. The supplemental also includes an additional $825 million to address National Guard and Reserve equipment shortfalls. An Appropriations Committee vote on the Senate bill is scheduled for Thursday, May 15, 2008.
Neither the President’s fiscal year 2009 budget, nor emergency supplemental request, provided funding for the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, which was authorized as part of the fiscal year 2008 Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 4986). With approximately 1,500 members of the Maryland National Guard returning from overseas deployments in the next six months, Senator Mikulski and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley held a roundtable discussion in March with members of the National Guard and their families. At the event, she pledged to fight for the supplemental funding, and to continue efforts to fully fund the program for fiscal year 2009.
April 29, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
William Burns, Director of Communications
(410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 | Cell: (410) 733-9945
Maryland Chamber of Commerce Supports Slots Referendum
Baltimore, MD (April 29, 2008) - The Maryland Chamber of Commerce today joined the Maryland State Teachers Association and the Maryland Association of Counties as part of the For Maryland, For Our Future campaign to support passage of the November slots referendum.
“As Maryland’s leading statewide business advocacy organization, the Maryland Chamber supports passage of the slots referendum as a reasonable alternative to tax increases.” Maryland Chamber Chairman Betty Buck, President of Buck Distributing Co., Inc. said. “Maryland cannot afford to keep sending hundreds of millions of dollars out of state. People will spend their money on this type of entertainment – regardless of the outcome of this referendum. It is our view that our state should recapture the millions being spent today in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.”
The Maryland Chamber has actively supported carefully regulated slot machines in limited locations to help fund education since October 2002. The Chamber’s board of directors reaffirmed its position during an April 22 board meeting, when it committed to rallying the business community and mobilizing its members in support of the November slots referendum.
“There is no realistic alternative to replace the revenue slots will generate for the State,” said Maryland Chamber President & CEO Kathleen T. Snyder, CCE. “Recapturing money spent on slots in other states will help provide needed education funding increases and prevent future tax increases.”
The Maryland Chamber supports passage of the referendum because it would:
Re-capture hundreds of millions of dollars that Marylanders spend out of state, helping to prevent future tax increases.
Dedicate 48.5% to 51% of total annual gross revenues to the Education Trust Fund.
Produce, by fiscal year 2013, approximately $660 million in new education funding.
Prevent further expansion of gaming in Maryland. The so-called “slippery slope” is impossible because the referendum is a Constitutional amendment that prevents any additional expansion of gaming anywhere in Maryland without a future voter-approved referendum.
The Maryland Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit coalition of 860 businesses who employ more than 440,000 people in the state. Its mission is to maximize opportunities for its members and their employees to grow and prosper. For more information about the Chamber, visit its website, www.mdchamber.org or call (410) 269-0642 or (301) 261-2858.
April 9, 2008 - From the MD State Chamber Report
The 2008 General Assembly session ended at 12 a.m. this morning. During the 90-day session, 2,641 bills were introduced. The Maryland Chamber took positions on 159 of them. Below is a recap of important business issues considered during the session. For more information, visit www.mdchamber.org.
Taxes and the Budget
State Budget: The state general fund budget for fiscal year 2009 will grow by 3.7 percent over the prior year, while allowing a $235 million year-end fund balance in case the economy worsens. Several of the new spending initiatives enacted at the 2007 special session were reduced or delayed in order to build the necessary reserves, including the bay fund, small employer health insurance subsidy, and state helicopter replacement.
Tech Tax: The Maryland Chamber, working with allied business organizations, achieved a significant victory in repealing the impending sales tax on computer services (SB 46). Although the Chamber advocated a different funding source, the bill ultimately included a three-year 6.25 percent income tax bracket for individuals with incomes of over $1 million, as well as a five-year diversion of $50 million per year in transportation revenues. The repeal of this tax is a priority for the Maryland Chamber and will help preserve technology jobs in Maryland. The bill was signed into law today.
Corporate Reporting Requirements: The Maryland Chamber-led business coalition secured changes to the burdensome information reporting requirements that were imposed on corporations during the 2007 special session. The legislation (SB 444/HB 664 ) reduces the most onerous and unnecessary aspects of the reporting requirements while still gathering the data that the State needs to study corporate income taxation. Passage of this legislation was a priority for the Maryland Chamber.
Other successes included:
Defeating legislation (SB 561/HB 676) that would have authorized counties to impose discriminatory rates of taxation on business property.
Defeating legislation (SB 791/HB 663) that would have allowed municipalities to impose a building excise tax on all types of building construction.
Defeating a bill (HB 1424) that would have permitted municipalities to impose a real estate transfer tax, thus adding a third level of transfer taxation to real estate transactions.
Passage of legislation (HB 723) to revise the rules for the Biotechnology Investment Incentive Credit, making the credit more attractive and easier to administer.
Environment & Energy
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Maryland Chamber, along with other interested business and labor organizations, successfully defeated legislation (SB 309/HB 712 ) that would have mandated a 25 percent reduction in Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2020 and set a goal of a 90 percent reduction in GHG from 2006 levels by 2050. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a national and global issue. State-specific action could have placed Maryland businesses at a competitive disadvantage. This legislation was overly ambitious and unachievable. It was not the answer to the global warming problem. It could have cost Maryland jobs, increased energy prices, and crippled industries trying to compete in a global marketplace.
Clean Air Permit Fees: The Chamber also worked to defeat legislation (SB 442) that would have increased the maximum air quality emissions-based permit fee from $25 per ton, indexed to inflation, to $50 per ton, indexed to inflation) and eliminated the existing $200,000 facility cap, and replaced it with a $500,000 cap for 2008 and 2009 only. This would have cost Maryland’s power generating utility companies more than $1 million each, and it is likely that the costs would have doubled after the cap expired. This legislation would have resulted in unintended consequences, such as increased energy prices.
Standing: The Maryland Chamber defeated a number of bills that would have expanded standing beyond an aggrieved party to appeal certain court and government decisions like zoning actions, business permits, and more. These bills include HB 246, SB 596 and SB 687.
Labor & Employment
Wage Payment on Termination: The Maryland Chamber successfully authored emergency legislation (SB 797 ) to correct a recent change in Maryland law regarding the payment of unused leave time to terminating employees. As a result of an unpublished Court of Special Appeals decision and a change in the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation’s position, Maryland businesses would have been required to pay out all unused vacation leave to terminating employees, regardless of what the employer’s policy says about payment of accrued leave. SB 797 restores the law to its pre-November 2007 state, which provides that an employer is not required to pay accrued but unused leave at termination where the employer has a written policy in place that is communicated to employees in advance of their termination and states that accrued leave will be lost or forfeited under certain circumstances.
UI Maximum Weekly Benefit: The Maryland Chamber defeated legislation (HB 1580) that would have increased the unemployment insurance (UI) maximum weekly benefit amount by $120 -- $40 a year for three years.
Government-Mandated Breaks: The Maryland Chamber successfully opposed legislation to impose a government-mandated, one-size-fits-all approach to shift break benefits that would have created administrative burdens for private sector employers (HB 654). This legislation was an unwarranted and unnecessary legislative intrusion into the employer-employee relationship.
Civil Liability
The Maryland Chamber helped to defeat several bills that would have exposed businesses to additional lawsuits and damages:
False Claims: Legislation that would have provided individuals new grounds to sue state government contractors (SB 845/HB 292 ) and health care providers (SB 215) for an allegation of filing a false claim for benefits.
Market Share Liability: Legislation that would have imposed an unprecedented standard of liability for companies that previously sold lead paint based on their market shares (HB 1241).
Noneconomic Damages: Legislation to increase the cap on noneconomic damage awards for lawsuits alleging wrongful death resulting from medical malpractice (SB550/HB 969).
Market Intervention
Several bills that would have unnecessarily injected state government into the marketplace were opposed by the Maryland Chamber and failed, including legislation to authorize price controls during a state of emergency (HB 1487), regulation of broadband Internet service (SB 515/HB 987 ), limitation of data retained by vendors following credit card transactions (HB 129 and HB 1108), and legislation that would have required gas station owners to give a right of first refusal to tenants prior to selling the property (SB 604 /HB 777).
The Maryland Chamber was also successful in stopping legislation (SB 145) that would have allowed Maryland Correctional Enterprises to use inmate labor to compete against service companies in the marketplace.
State Procurement
The Maryland Chamber was successful in defeating a number of bills that would have detracted from Maryland’s market-based competitive bidding procurement process, including legislation to expand the living wage on service contracts (HB 106) and the prevailing wage on construction contracts (SB 958/HB 970 ), protectionist bills to limit apparel procurement (HB 28/HB 290), a bill to restrict the definition of a responsible bidder (HB 990 ), and legislation to require any entity receiving state financial incentives to follow the State’s minority business employment guidelines(HB 1304). Legislation to post more bids to the State’s Internet-based procurement system (HB 865) passed with the Maryland Chamber’s support.
Health
Health care action was limited following the expansion of health care coverage during the 2007 special session. Legislation was passed (HB 462), supported by the Maryland Chamber, to extend until 2011 the termination date for sole proprietors participating in the small group health insurance plan. The Maryland Chamber successfully opposed ERISA-busting bills that attempted to impose employer health care mandates (HB 1282 ) and pay-or-play payroll taxes (HB 1540). A Maryland Chamber supported bill (HB 737) to require an income tax surcharge for individuals above certain income levels who lack health insurance was not successful.
Transportation
ICC Construction: The Maryland Chamber defeated legislation that would have eliminated funding or further delayed construction of the Intercounty Connector, including:
Legislation that would have prohibited the Maryland Department of Transportation from funding the ICC (HB 1471).
Legislation that would have made ICC financing contingent on yet another environmental study (HB 1416).
Legislation that would have prohibited ICC funding until an assessment is completed to quantify public health impacts from air pollution (HB 1595).
Elected Officials
House of Delegates; District 36;
SMIGIEL, MICHAEL D. SR.; michael_smigiel@house.state.md.us
SOSSI, RICHARD A.; richard_sossi@house.state.md.us
WALKUP, MARY ROE; mary_walkup_district@house.state.md.us
State Senator, District 36
PIPKIN, E. J.; ej_pipkin@senate.state.md.us
County Commissioner
CROW, ROY W.;
FITHIAN, RONALD H.;
PICKRUM, WILLIAM, W.;
State?s Attorney
STRONG, ROBERT H. JR;
Clerk of the Circuit Court
MUMFORD, MARK L.;
Register of Wills
JEWELL, NANCY LEE;
Judge of the Orphan?s Court
BLAKE, WILLIAM I.;
Sheriff
PRICE, JOHN F.;
Board of Education
WILLIAMS, BRYAN;
Governor/Lt. Governor
O?MALLEY, MARTIN/ BROWN, ANTHONY G.;
Comptroller
FRANCHOT, PETER;
Attorney General
GANSLER, DOUGLAS F.;
U.S. Senator
CARDIN, BENJAMIN L.; Democrat: 22 Bloomsbury Ave., Catonsville, MD 21228; 410-366-1900; Jamie@bencardin.com
Representative in Congress, District/Circuit 01
GILCHREST, WAYNE T.;
