Wednesday, March 10, 2010
MD Senate Passes Amended Unemployment Insurance Bill
The Maryland Senate passed the amended unemployment insurance bill (SB 107) yesterday by a vote of 46-0. The House Economic Matters Committee will now consider the amended bill.
The bill provides businesses with payment plan options to help spread the cost of increased unemployment taxes over the course of the year.
As introduced, the bill 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 amended to also include benefit reductions to offset these new costs. This was an important element for which the Maryland Chamber and our business allies worked.
We 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.
We will keep you updated as the bill moves through the House of Delegates. For more information, contact Allyson Black at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
