Wednesday, January 20, 2010
UI Bill Hearing is Next Week
The administration’s unemployment insurance (UI) bill has been introduced. The bill, SB 107, will be heard by the Senate Finance Committee on January 26 at 3 p.m. The bill would alter provisions for UI benefit eligibility in the areas of alternate base period, part-time workers, and training. It would also provide payment plan options for employers and reduce the interest rate on certain late payments.
Although, the Maryland Chamber supports providing payment plan options for employers, and the decision to lower the interest rate, we oppose the overall bill as currently drafted. The UI tax rate should remain at Table F, because reducing it to Table E will decrease the ability to build up the trust fund at a faster rate, and will ensure that the tax rate will remain in Table F for a longer period of time. With regard to the federal stimulus dollars, it would be a short term gain for a longer term liability cost. The Chamber believes that if such legislation is passed it must include offsets that help reach the goal of revenue neutrality that will bring balance to the UI program.
We’ll have more information about SB 107 later this week.
