Posted on 03/30/2016 8:52:58 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Annapolis Update #4 - Outlook for Maryland Businesses
There is some truly bad legislation coming through the Maryland General Assembly which will have a huge negative effect on businesses presently in the State and on businesses considering moving here.
1. HB 610 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act - Reauthorization has passed the House and is now in the Senate.
These greenhouse gas initiatives will continue to punish conventional utility producers (coal and natural gas), forcing them to pay fines for carbon output. These fines will be passed on to the rate payers -- residential and commercial -- which will drive utility rates up. The fines collected will be used to subsidize more expensive energy production (solar and wind), which will also mean cost increases.
2. HB 1003 Labor and Employment - Equal Pay for Equal Work has passed the House and is now in the Senate.
While we all support the concept of equal pay for women (which is already federal law), this bill puts even more burdensome record-keeping on businesses, and allows numerous ways for employees to bring frivolous law suits against an employer. Result -- an even more unfriendly business climate in Maryland.
3. HB 580 Labor and Employment - Maryland Healthy Working Families Act will probably be voted out of committee today.
Similarly to the Equal Pay bill, this means more record-keeping burdens for businesses. It creates a system for employee lawsuits, and, if the suit is found to be without merit, employer costs are not recoverable. Also, the provisions of this bill are contradictory to the provisions of the Equal Pay bill, so puts employers in a bind - to put it mildly.
Let me note that all three of these bills were in my committee, the House Economic Matters Committee. I have heard all the testimony presented at the hearings and can speak authoritatively about them.
For many businesses the best solution may be to move their business offices across the state line, while still conducting their business in Maryland. For most areas of Maryland, the state line is only a short drive away, and our Attorney General and the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation have no jurisdiction across the state line.
Also, where such legislation was enacted in Washington State, there was major job loss, with companies moving out of state.
I wish the news were better, but the news is the news. For Maryland businesses, it is death by a thousand cuts.
Rick Impallaria Delegate, District 7 Rick.Impallaria@house.state.md.us
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
My neighbor here (Howard County) got solar panels and told me that he gets a monthly subsidy from BGE just for having them,
this explains it.
That's our $$$ going to them.
maybe gov will veto?
Sure he will, then the Mike and Mike Clown Show will override it on a party line vote since democrats can’t think for themselves.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.