Maryland General Assembly wrap up luncheon: Where the Eastern Shore Delegation says more work needs to be done

SALISBURY, Md- Lawmakers from the Eastern Shore Delegation met in Salisbury Thursday to discuss the legislative session and the issues they will be continuing to work on ahead of next year.

Protecting Eastern Shore Interests

Lawmakers say some of the most important work they were able to accomplish was changing, or blocking legislation that could have hurt the Eastern Shore including a bill that sought to cut out poultry and forestry from the state’s long-term affordability index, in effect putting a ticking clock on those jobs and that sector.

“Expressing the concern I had for the text of 2 of those proposals would affect our community our area our way of life we were able to defeat that bill,” said Speaker Pro Tempore Sheree Sample-Hughes.

Sample-Hughes also tells us she was proud of blocking a measure that would have removed the votes and voices of 12 watermen from the state’s aquaculture board, limiting their ability to influence policy and regulation on their industry.

“You cannot leave out the watermen who are stewards of the water and I wanted them to continue to have a voice at the table and when you want to remove that that is concerning because how do you have that voice, when do you get to hear from them, so we can all work together to further another industry but work to retain what we do have,” Sample-Hughes said.

Delegate Chris Adams tells 47ABC that with a focus on environmental sustainability and justice on the mind of the Democratic Majority, he and other lawmakers are working to make sure the impacts of sweeping changes on businesses are not forgotten by lawmakers and are accounted for in legislation.

“Before there can be environmental justice for disadvantaged communities, there needs to be economic viability for people living here on the shore that is the middle ground that each policy should pass in Annapolis,” Adams said.

Senator Johnny Mautz also touted the scaling back of multiple proposed gun laws in the state, including a limit on concealed and open carry permitting.

“Many of them were peeled back dramatically and look nothing like they did when first introduced however they were enacted the question is will Governor Moore veto them before the end of May or let them go into law,” he said adding ” We do have a crime issue and guns are a big part of that but it is not lawful gun owners it is repeat offenders.”

Mautz tells 47ABC he was glad to see a measure raising the penalty for illegal gun ownership from three years to five years move forward to Governor Moore’s desk.

Mautz also praised the passage of a bill giving tax relief to retired military service members, despite multiple failed attempts in the past.

“That bill sailed through, and it could have become a political thing because it has been proposed in the past but all of a sudden this year it made it and I don’t care how it happened, it keeps in league with Delaware and Pennsylvania for these types cuts,” he said.

Working Out The Details

Lawmakers also stressed the session’s impact on existing legislation, including more local funding for school districts to comply with the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future educational overhaul, as well as the state-paid family medical leave act, which was shifted from a 70-30 employee to company burden on payments, to a 50-50 with a 2026 deadline for payouts to begin.

Senator Mary Beth Carozza tells 47ABC she opposed the original program and the changes, but cites the businesses communities’ successful efforts to block tying the Minimum Wage Act to the consumer price index as proof of the importance of showing up on issues.

“The 50-50 that was worked the concern we are hearing is it’s impacting employees and employers and that the system isn’t worked out yet so I would continue to encourage the business community to stay engaged,” she said.

Members also raised a new report from the Department of Labor that described a lack of bandwidth in the department to be able to successfully administer the program, or build the insurance marketplace.

Speaker Pro Temp Sheree Sample-Hughes tells 47ABC she knows the issues in the department firsthand, having recently received constituent calls concerning over 60 months of non-payment of unemployment from the department.

However, she says the department, along with the rest of the state is in transition.

“The new governor has only been here for 4 months, that department is understaffed and is looking to transition into a new role and hire for those positions, and we have to remember that this is a measure for people who have to leave for emergencies and still put food on the plate and that is who this measure is meant to protect,” she said.

For Maryland Blueprint, Senator Johnny Mautz tells 47ABC he believes the state is not doing enough to help with funding, saying despite passing the legislative session, school districts only found out in March they would be getting state dollars in the budget to help meet requirements that would among other requirements see universal pre-k for 3-4-year-olds implemented in every district.

“The way this is being rolled out, administrators are focusing on funding sources instead of student performance, and in my view, it goes back to really goes back to me the lack of representation on the accountability implementation board and we still don’t have that which will continue to be a priority,” he said.

What Businesses Say They Need 

During a Q&A session at the event hosted by the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce, lawmakers heard directly from business leaders on what they wanted and expressed frustration at being unable to shift the needle or garner support for certain bills.

Delegate Wayne Hartman’s bill to lower the corporate tax rate in the state failed to gather enough support to move forward, in a move that Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce President Bill Chambers says will drive businesses away from the state and to their neighbors.

“We have a state just north of us with lower minimum wage and lower corporate income tax rate and our neighbor Virginia is the same situation and our West Virginia and Pennsylvania these are desirable states to do business in,” Chambers said.

Members also heard the need for more childcare options in the area, a shortage they say is hurting workers and driving more people into areas where services can be rendered.

“We need to hear firsthand from these childcare providers on what they need because I cannot answer that question but we need to start checking the tape and supporting them,” Adams said.

Bill Chambers tells 47ABC he would also want to see more tax incentives for new businesses to move to the area to keep the businesses in the area growing.

“If there could be a suspension of tax for a period of time for the businesses an even workers to get entrepreneurs here, more than 80 percent of businesses in the state have 15 or fewer employees, that’s who we need to be chasing after to start their businesses here,” Chambers said.

Lawmakers say they will continue to hear from the community during the legislative recess, to have a full command of the issues facing the Eastern Shore before they return to session in 2024.