In order to simplify plan administration, most health insurance carriers serving the small group market and fully-insured larger groups in Maryland are no longer offering plans that recognize grandfathered benefit levels. Additionally, the Maryland Insurance Administration and the Maryland Health Care Commission are in the process of issuing emergency regulations that would preclude carriers from recognizing grandfathered plans in the small group market for plan years after September 23, 2010.  A survey by the National Business Group on Health shows that most larger employers are also throwing in the towel on grandfathering, concluding that it is more important to adjust plan features that will contain costs than freeze the benefit design and maintain grandfathered status. See the survey.

Contact Ron Wineholt for further information at rwineholt@mdchamber.org.

This is a quick post to show you where you can find responses from your candidates.

1. Start at the Election Center home page. Click the “Find Your Candidates” link.

2. Enter your address and the site will provide you with a list of candidates in your district.

3. Click the “State Legislature” tab to view your candidates for Maryland Senate and Maryland House of Delegates.

4. Click on a candidates name to pull up their profile. 

5. To see if we’ve posted your candidates responses, click the “Find Your Candidates” link. If we’ve posted their response, you will find it in the “Our Comments” section, just above the box with biographical information.

If you have any questions, contact me at wburns@mdchamber.org.

Visit the site Election Center to access voter registration information, details about candidates in your district, election news, tips for workplace get-out-the-vote programs and other election year resources. If you find the site helpful, be sure to share it with your employees and co-workers.

We sent all candidates running for state office a business issue questionnaire. Many have already responded and we’ve posted their responses here to make it easy for business people to discover where their candidates stand on important economic issues like taxes, workplace regulation, Maryland’s economic competitiveness and more. We’ll be updating the site frequently, so if you don’t see your candidate’s response, be sure to check back soon.

You can use our website to complete your voter registration forms. To begin, click here. Enter your name, address and a few other bits of information and the site will produce a pdf file that you can print, sign and mail to your county board of elections.

Remember that you cannot register to vote online, via email or by fax. You must mail the registration form to your county board of elections. You may also complete a voter registration form in person at your local board of elections, the State Board of Elections, the Motor Vehicle Administration or a number of other locations.

For more voter registration information, click here.

Current law generally requires that a Form 1099 be filed for purchases of services over $600 during a calendar year – typically from small contractors and vendors. One of the mechanisms used to pay for the new federal health care law was an expansion of 1099 filing requirements to goods purchased, and purchases from corporations, starting in calendar year 2012. This new law will greatly increase administrative costs for businesses, result in hundreds of millions of new 1099s, and cause the following problems:

• Businesses will need to have record keeping systems in place by January of 2012 that allow for the tracking of all purchases by vendor Tax Identification Number (TIN).
• Businesses will need to obtain a TIN from a vendor at the time of making a purchase if there is a possibility that your total purchases could exceed $600 during the year. Think of the nightmare this will cause when buying a computer, office supplies, inventory, gasoline, etc.
• If a vendor fails to provide you their TIN, you are required to withhold 28% of the purchase price in backup withholding and annually remit the funds to the IRS.
• The 1099s must be provided to the IRS starting in January of 2013, with a copy sent to the vendor. Businesses filing over 250 1099s with the IRS must do so electronically.
• Businesses receiving 1099s should reconcile them to their records for accuracy. Businesses filing or receiving 1099s are likely to receive additional correspondence from the IRS if the data filed differs from their records (missing data, non-match of name and TIN, 1099 income not reflected on tax return, etc.).
• Businesses that fail to issue the required 1099s or perform backup withholding will receive penalties from the IRS.
• Payments to business entities that are tax exempt will not require a 1099. IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman has also stated that he may administratively exempt from 1099 reporting payments made by businesses through credit or debit cards, since these are separately reported by financial institutions.

While your Congressman and Senators are on the campaign trail, now is the perfect time to demand that they co-sponsor pending legislation (S. 3578 and H.R. 5141) to repeal the burdensome 1099 reporting requirements (only Rep. Bartlett is currently a co-sponsor). Do not accept excuses that this “revenue source” must be replaced (to pay for a health care bill we opposed) or that similar legislation recently died in the House (H.R. 5982 was a partisan attempt to impose more tax increases). See more information on this issue from the Maryland Association of CPAs here.

Contact your Senators and Representative today and urge them to repeal the burdensome 1099 requirements.

Contact Ron Wineholt for further information at rwineholt@mdchamber.org.

The regulations, issued under the new federal health care law, do not apply to plans in a “grandfathered” status, as we described last month. See the regs and services here. Contact Ron Wineholt for further information at rwineholt@mdchamber.org.

Selected participants will provide the Small Business Advocacy Review panel input on how the EPA can minimize the potential burden on small entities. The panel will consist of officials from the EPA, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Office of Management and Budget. Participants will provide input on how the EPA can minimize the potential burden on small entities.

Nominations must be received by August 4. Click here for more information about the proposed rulemaking. Contact Allyson Black for further information at ablack@mdchamber.org.

Contact Ron Wineholt for further information at rwineholt@mdchamber.org.

The Commission is planning on public hearing in the late fall and final votes on recommendations in November.  If your business has concerns regarding these issues, we need you to contact us now. Contact Ron Wineholt for further information at rwineholt@mdchamber.org.

This month, we will launch an online election guide on the Chamber Action Network website. The guide will be a one-stop shop for non-partisan election year information. You and your employees will be able to find voter registration information, identify which district you live in, browse information about your candidates and more.

We sent all candidates running for state office a business issue questionnaire. We will begin to post their responses soon, so business people can find our where their candidates stand on important business issues like taxes, workplace regulation, Maryland economic competitiveness and more.

You can help our efforts by planning a workplace Get-Out-the-Vote effort. Here are a few simple suggestions:

• Urge your employees to register to vote and provide them voter registration information, as well as information on how to obtain an absentee ballot if they will be out of town. To vote in the September 14 primary, you must be registered by August 24. To vote in the November 2 General Election, you must be registered by October 12. Registration information is available here. You can use our website to complete your voter registration forms. To begin, click here. Enter your name, address and a few other bits of information and the site will produce a pdf file that you can print, sign and mail in to register to vote. Remember that you cannot register to vote online, you must mail in a registration form to the State Board of Elections or your local board of elections.
• Remind your employees to vote by placing a reminder with their paycheck prior to Election Day – Primary Election is September 14; General Election is November 2.
• Encourage your employees to vote on Election Day by providing them paid time off to go to the polls. Offer anyone who votes extra time in the morning, at lunch or at the end of the day.
• Hold a contest to for voting participation. Have each division, office or department strive for 100 percent participation. Offer prizes or recognition for the winning group.

If you have any questions about how the Maryland Chamber can help you with your election year efforts, contact Will Burns at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 or wburns@mdchamber.org.