Maryland legislators on business issues: The next two weeks are going to be telling

Business issues are heating up in Annapolis as lawmakers and Gov. Larry Hogan try to hash out what to do with a budget surplus while navigating controversial ideas like requiring employers to offer paid sick leave.

Tax issues and business-related spending alike will be on display in the next dozen days, lawmakers said Monday morning at the Greater Baltimore Committee's annual legislative forum. The forum came as the Hogan administration moved to introduce supplemental budgets to fund priorities like a $700 million Baltimore blight-elimination effort and a Prince George' County hospital. It also came as early deadlines loom for legislators to introduce bills in the General Assembly.

"The next two weeks are really going to be telling — what's coming and what spending and tax reductions you're going to see," said Senate Minority Leader J.B. Jennings, a Republican from Baltimore and Harford counties. "I think you're going to see several hundred bills introduced."

Chief among questions to be answered is what tax changes are in store. Hogan has already backed a number of tax and fee cuts. Tax cuts are likely to spur debate, especially after a commission led by retired Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine that was backed by legislative Democratic leaders came out in January with several recommendations.

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