Wednesday, January 8, 2020, the Maryland General Assembly convened to begin the 90-day Maryland legislative session. Over the next few months, our Delegates and Senators will consider almost 3,000 pieces of legislation, with topics ranging from the environment, tax policy, education and public safety. The issue drawing the most attention will likely be the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education. Chaired by former USM Chancellor Brit Kirwan, the Commission’s report is known as the Kirwan Report. Suffice it say that Mr. Kirwan would prefer us using the formal name. Our own County Executive Jan Gardner and former BOE President Joy Schaefer both participated on the Commission. The report, available for download here, details the investments in facilities, resources and staffing necessary to provide for a public school system designed to meet emerging needs statewide. How these resources are paid for will be a major issue in the next 90 days.
This session is historic because our State Senate and House of Delegates are coming under new management for the first time in decades. Senate President Bill Ferguson is in his mid-30’s, yet finds himself leading a legislative body that has been led by Sen. Mike Miller for OVER 30 years! In the House, last year’s session adjourned following the death of Speaker Michael Busch of Annapolis, who’d held his position since 2002. He’s being replaced by Delegate Adrienne Jones, our state’s first woman AND African-American to chair this body.
The traditions of these institutions are sacrosanct, and the process through which a bill becomes law fall directly under the purview of these two new leaders. They hold all of the keys to power, and learning how to use those keys will be a consuming focus for both President Ferguson and Speaker Jones
Our own Delegation is hard at work on various legislative proposals to deal with issues they’ve encountered, or have been brought to them by their constituents. Each of our legislators is interested in hearing from you, and I’ll include their email addresses below.
The Delegation typically meets on Friday mornings during the Session, at least until they deal with the County legislative package. These meetings are open to the public, although their held in a House complex facility that requires a photo-ID to enter. Delegate Jesse Pippy is our Delegation Chair for this year, and his team (via his email) can answer any questions you might have about attending a Delegation meeting.
The State Chamber has several legislative priorities for the business community, although you can anticipate some overlap, to include the Kirwan Report findings.
- Monitoring any new funding proposals stemming from the recommendations made by the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education (Kirwan Commission). We stand ready to work with all stakeholders to identify viable funding solutions that will result in a world-class educational system for our students but won’t unintentionally create barriers for our job creators.
- Watching any potential adjustments to the corporate tax rate as well as any new taxing schemes that could prove detrimental to Maryland businesses, including mandatory combined reporting.
- Protecting a set of economic development incentives, including tax credits that are intended to boost research and development and investment in local cyber and biotechnology companies.
- Voicing support for additional data centers in Maryland. We have convened a Data Center Coalition that seeks to add Maryland to the list of 30 states that already offer tax incentives to the operators of data centers. We’re also continuing our push for a sales-and-use tax exemption for the sale of computer technology to be used at these data centers. Such legislation would level the playing field, attract data center business to Maryland, and support the state as a leader in innovation and investment in cyber and information technology.
I mentioned our hard-working Delegation. Please connect with them to share your thoughts and insights. I know all of them personally. They care what you think, and would appreciate your insights and observations. Be courteous, even if you don’t agree with a particular vote or position. Remember, today’s opponent can easily be tomorrow’s most important ally!
- Sen. Ron Young- ronald.young@senate.state.md.us
- Sen. Michael Hough- Michael.hough@senate.state.md.us
- Del. Barrie Ciliberti- barrie.ciliberti@house.state.md.us
- Del. Dan Cox- dan.cox@house.state.md.us
- Del. Ken Kerr- ken.kerr@house.state.md.us
- Del. Carol Krimm- carol.krimm@house.state.md.us
- Del. Jesse Pippy- jesse.pippy@house.state.md.us
- Del. Karen Lewis Young- Karen.young@house.state.md.us
– Rick Weldon, President & CEO
Frederick Chamber Insights is a news outlet of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce. For more information about membership, programs and initiatives, please visit our website.