Tuesday, March 23, 2010
House Passes Amended Unemployment Insurance Bill
The House of Delegates passed the amended unemployment insurance bill this week by a vote 101-33. The Maryland Chamber supports the amended bill.
As introduced, the bill, SB 107, made a number of changes to unemployment insurance eligibility and benefits to make the state eligible for $126.8 million of federal stimulus money. The bill was heavily amended to include benefit reductions to offset these new costs. This was an important element for which the Maryland Chamber and our business allies worked.
The Chamber also worked to ensure the long-term health and stability of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The amended bill keeps the rate schedule at Table F, rather than moving to Table E. The original bill used much of the federal stimulus funds to provide employers with a small one-year rate deferral. Staying at Table F and dedicating the federal dollars to the trust fund will help rebuild the trust fund faster, which is an important step to reducing unemployment insurance tax rates for all Maryland employers in future years.
For more information, contact Allyson Black at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
