Senator Addie Eckardt, District 37 Weekly Wrap-Up February 9, 2018

On February 5, 2018, I attended the Watermen's Caucus Legislative Reception along with representatives of the Eastern Shore: John Wingrove (Congressman Andy Harris) Delegate Arentz (District 36), Delegate Ghrist (District 36), Melissa Kelly (Senator Chris Van Hollen), Delegate Jacobs (District 36), and Kim Kratovil (Senator Ben Cardin). This Week in Annapolis As the fifth week of Maryland’s Legislative Session concludes, I am pleased to share with you how the General Assembly is working for you, your families, and your businesses; each day, bills are introduced, heard in committee, and passed on the floor that continue to affect each and every Marylander.   Concerning HB 1 of the 2017 Session, Labor and Employment – Maryland Healthy Working Families Act, the Maryland Senate voted on February 7, 2018 to advance SB 304 – Maryland Healthy Working Families Act – Delay of Effective Date that would delay the accrual and implementation of paid sick leave until July 1, 2018; this bill will now be moving over to the House of Delegates for a vote. The Senate floor vote demonstrates that we recognize that businesses need more time to prepare for the implementation and also need guidelines on how to enact this initiative. For more information on what this legislation is and how your business could be affected, please visithttps://mdchamber.org/what-next-a-primer-on-hb-1-compliance-from-shawe-rosenthal/ or contact the Office of Small Business Regulatory Assistance atSmall.Business@Maryland.gov. On February 7, 2018, the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee held a hearing on SB 373 – Education – Head Start Program – Annual Appropriation that I co-sponsored. This legislation would require that the Governor include an appropriation of at least $3,000,000 for the Head Start program in each annual budget submission, a $1.2 million increase from the current funding of $1.8 million. The Head Start program promotes the school readiness of low-income children by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development while also targeting the entire family unit through parent education sessions and community services. Funding for this program currently comes largely from the federal government while the State provides supplemental funding that was cut in in 2010; this legislation would reallocate the $3,000,000 to reduce the summer learning loss and increase school readiness skills. My Bill Hearings This Week On February 6, 2018, Paige and Brooke Simonsen joined me in Annapolis to testify in support of SB 341 – Hunting –Required Outerwear – Daylight Fluorescent Pink to the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee (EHE). This legislation would add daylight fluorescent pink as an authorized hunter safety color, along with daylight fluorescent orange. Immediately after the bill hearing, EHE unanimously voted in favor of SB 341 so it will be going to the Senate floor shortly for a vote. You can read more about Paige and Brooke’s story at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/hot-pink-for-hunters-sisters-ages-9-and-12-push-for-new-law-in-maryland/2018/02/07/6105665c-0c13-11e8-8890-372e2047c935_story.html?utm_term=.879936e3d31d.   I presented SB 215 – Motor Vehicle Registration – Exception for Golf Carts – Town of Vienna to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on February 6, 2018. This legislation would allow golf carts to be driven within the town limits of Vienna so as to promote tourism and community involvement. On February 8, 2018, I presented SB 466 – Estates and Trusts – Administration of Estates – Waiver of Fees to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. This was the first of seven pieces of legislation that I will be sponsoring that came as a recommendation of the Task Force to Study Tax Sales in Maryland. This legislation would allow the Registers of Wills to waive probate fees for opening estates when transferring property from a deceased relative to a family member; by doing so, this would prevent at-risk families from being forced into tax sale and foreclosure due to the inability to pay the necessary fees to transfer the title of the home. Paige and Brooke Simonsen, as well as Matthew Hurst, joined staff and I in Annapolis on February 6, 2018 to present SB 341 to authorize daylight fluorescent pink as a hunter safety color. Recently Sponsored Legislation SB 828: Income Tax – Personal Exemptions – Inflation Adjustment I am reintroducing legislation that index, based on a cost-of-living adjustment, the value of the income tax personal exemption and the additional exemption for elderly or blind individuals. SB 829: Income Tax Subtraction Modification – Retirement Income (Fairness in Taxation for Retirees Act) This bill would expand the existing State pension exclusion subtraction modification by allowing income from the all retirement plans to be included within the subtraction modification. SB 830: Income Tax – Standard Deduction – Inflation Adjustment This legislation was initially introduced in 2017 and would alter the value of the standard deduction based on the annual change of the cost-of-living adjustment. SB 950: Health Occupations – Treatment of Lyme Disease and Other Tick-Borne Diseases – Disciplinary Action Maryland ranks among the top fourteen states in the country for the reported number of people with Lyme Disease; this legislation would allow for the integrative, complementary, and alternative methods of testing and treatment by medical practitioners for Lyme Disease in Maryland. SB 951: Tax Sales – Vacant and Abandoned Property Currently, only Baltimore City has the legal authority to reduce or eliminate property liens; this legislation would grant this authority to all jurisdictions. This is an important tool to address blight and put properties back into productive use, as it allows a property to be transferred with clear title, increasing the likelihood that the property will be purchased. SB 952: Tax Sales – Homeowner Protections Under current law, if a homeowner has eligible delinquencies totaling $250 or more, then a property must go to tax sale; however, Baltimore City is the exception and determined that a property must go to tax sale when delinquencies total $750 or more. This legislation would allow all jurisdictions the ability to increase the threshold of which a property must be put into tax sale from $250 up to $750. SB 953: Tax – Property – Collateralization of Tax Lien Securities This legislation would allow jurisdictions to use a system that allows liens to be placed into a Trust, and used as collateral for loans to the jurisdiction creating cash flow for the jurisdiction. This would allow the jurisdiction to potentially see some financial gain out of properties that might otherwise cycle through tax sale. SB 954: Property Tax – In Rem Foreclosure and Sale – Vacant and Abandoned Property  This would enable jurisdictions to voluntarily create the judicial In Rem tax sale system with additions that provide constitutionally defensible language for jurisdictions to select which properties go through this system. The In Remsystem allows jurisdictions to use a deed sale system to address vacant properties, not a tax sale certificate system, in which clear and insurable title is delivered at the completion of the deed sale system.  SB 955: Income Tax – Angel Investor Tax Credit Program This bill would create a tax credit against the State income tax for investors that make qualified investments in Maryland innovation businesses. In order to address the needs of rural counties, the credit is equal to 66% of the qualified investment, and 50% for urban counties. This credit will also be available twice a year to allow rural counties to gather investors. SB 956: Alcoholic Beverages – Maryland Beer and Brewery Promotion Program – Establishment This legislation would establish the Maryland Beer and Brewery Promotion Program within the Department of Commerce. SB 957: Income Tax Credits – Poultry Houses – LED Lighting and Solar Panel Systems This bill would provide a $5,000 tax credit per poultry house that is retrofit with LEDs and solar panels; this would serve as incentives for growers to integrate LED lighting with solar panels. SB 968: Task Force on Rural Internet, Broadband, Wireless, and Cellular Service – Study and Extension  SB 717 – Connecting Rural Maryland Act of 2017 of the 2017 Session established the Task Force on Rural Internet, Broadband, Wireless, and Cellular Service to study and make recommendations on how to providing communication services to all of Maryland; this year’s legislation would extend the Task Force and allow them to continue working until November 30, 2018. Coming Up Next Week February 14, 2018 is the bicentennial celebration of the birth of Frederick Douglass, a Talbot County native who escaped slavery to become a noted abolitionist, preacher, and advocate of women’s rights. In recognition of this, I have introduced Senate Joint Resolution 6 – Commemorating the Bicentennial of the Birth of Frederick Douglass which would recognize the bicentennial on a State level. In addition, the Frederick Douglass Honor Society will present a Bicentennial Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Frederick Douglass Statue by the Talbot County Court House. Later that same afternoon, Maryland Department of Natural Resources Program Open Space and County Council of Talbot County will be hosting the Dedicatory and Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Frederick Douglass Park on the Tuckahoe.  Also on February 14, 2018, I will be presenting two bills to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee: SB 404 – Home Gaming – Bunco and SB 467 – Sales and Use Tax – Tax-Free Period for Back-to-School Shopping – School Supplies. On February 15, 2018, I will be presenting SB 468: Landlord and Tenant – Residential Leases – Water and Sewer Bills and SB 711 – Health Occupations – Applications for Renewal of Licenses, Permits, Certifications, or Registrations – Available by Mail. Scheduled Hearings  February 14, 2018 at 1:00 pm SB 404: Home Gaming – Bunco SB 467: Sales and Use Tax – Tax-Free Period for Back-to-School Shopping – School Supplies February 15, 2018 at 1:00 pm SB 468: Landlord and Tenant – Residential Leases – Water and Sewer Bills SB 711: Health Occupations – Applications for Renewal of License, Permits, Certifications, or Registrations – Available by Mail February 20, 2018 at 1:00 pm SB 709: Environment – Water and Sewer Service SJ 6: Commemorating the Bicentennial of the Birth of Frederick Douglass February 22, 2018 at 1:00 pm SB 968: Task Force on Rural Internet, Broadband, Wireless, and Cellular Service – Study and Extension February 23, 2018 at 1:00 pm SB 3: Dorchester County—Hurlock—Alcoholic Beverages—Place-of-Worship of School Distance Restrictions SB 51: Dorchester County—Alcoholic Beverages—Beer and Wine Festivals SB 140: Dorchester County—Alcoholic Beverages—Class C Per Diem Licenses—Catering Club Events SB 283: Alcoholic Beverages—Auxiliary Winery Permit March 7, 2018 at 1:00 pm SB 828: Income Tax – Personal Exemptions – Inflation Adjustment SB 829: Income tax Subtraction Modification – Retirement Income (Fairness in Taxation for Retirees Act) SB 830: Income Tax – Standard Deduction – Inflation Adjustment SB 950: Health Occupations – Treatment of Lyme Disease and Other Tick-Borne Diseases – Disciplinary Actions March 9, 2018 at 1:00 pm SB 951: Tax Sales – Vacant and Abandoned Property SB 952: Tax Sales – Homeowner Protections SB 953: Tax – Property – Collateralization of Tax Lien Securities SB 954: Property Tax – In Rem Foreclosure and Sale – Vacant and Abandoned Property March 13, 2018 at 1:00 pm SB 955: Income Tax – Angel Investor Tax Credit Program March 14, 2018 at 1:00 pm SB 957: Income Tax Credits – Poultry Houses – LED Lighting and Solar Panel Systems