Annual Scorecard Released: Identifies Maryland’s Pro-Business/Pro-Jobs Legislators
COLUMBIA, MD, June 24, 2022 – The Maryland Free Enterprise Foundation (Maryland Free), a statewide, nonpartisan, non-profit organization, has released the 2022 edition of its annual publication, Roll Call, now available online at www.marylandfree.org/roll-call/.
Each year, Maryland Free’s State Advisory Council selects recorded votes from the most recent General Assembly session that affect—positively or negatively—a healthy business climate and job growth throughout Maryland. Maryland Free identifies these bills in Roll Call and analyzes the votes to produce a score for each legislator.
For the 2022 analysis, Roll Call analyzed 11 Senate votes and 14 House votes.
A focus of the 2022 Roll Call, comprising 5 of the 25 total votes, is the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, which mandates a new employee benefit without limiting or defining the costs for both employers and employees. The many unanswered questions associated with this bill create great unpredictability for employers and employees, who face a new tax while simultaneously dealing with 40-year high inflation and other economic challenges. The scorecard includes the initial votes in each chamber, veto overrides, and an amendment to make the bill less onerous for temporary workers and their employers.
Other bills focus on a variety of issues, including broadening the scope and power of prevailing wage laws, making it easier to sue employers, accelerating climate goals, and setting arbitrary thresholds for so-called price gouging.
A couple of bright spots in this year’s Roll Call include a bill to exclude from recent tax-increase legislation enterprise software used to run a business, and significantly increased thresholds for which businesses must file annual personal property tax returns.
About the Maryland Free Enterprise Foundation (Maryland Free)
Maryland Free is a statewide, nonpartisan political research and education organization supported by corporations, trade associations, chambers of commerce, and individuals. Its purpose is to inform Maryland’s business community, elected officials, and the general public about the political and economic environment needed to foster economic development and job creation in Maryland. Annual evaluations of the voting records of Maryland’s state legislators enable Maryland Free and its members to hold politicians accountable for the state’s economic well-being like no other organization.
About Roll Call
Roll Call is compiled by an independent advisory council of corporations, trade associations, small businesses, chambers of commerce, and other business and trade organizations involved in the 90-day session in Annapolis. The purpose of Roll Call is to educate, inform, and empower Maryland employers, business owners, and others to engage in a dialogue with elected officials on issues critical to a healthy economic development climate in Maryland. Maryland Free has been issuing its annual report card for 37 years.
The 2022 edition of Roll Call can be downloaded at www.MarylandFree.org/Roll-Call.
Media Contact:
Duane Carey, President
Maryland Free Enterprise Foundation
(410) 280-6274
duane@marylandfree.org