2013 Legislative Survey

The Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce has an active Legislative Affairs Committee, along with a professional lobbyist who works on our behalf in Annapolis. We meet weekly during session to discuss upcoming bills and make decisions on the chambers position. As a board, it is critical to get the membership's opinion on these issues before we formulate an official stance. We are currently monitoring a number of bills that have been introduced this session that are relevant to the chambers top legislative priorities. Please answer the following questions, so we can gauge the business community’s opinion on some of these major bills and so that we can take an official position.

In addition if you have any bills that are of interest to your business, please contact us at melanie@oceancity.org. We send weekly updates from the chamber through our elert system. This information is also available at http://oceancity.org/maryland-legislative-updates. We sincerely look forward to your feedback. Kindly respond by COB Monday February 25.

*All of the bills are linked in each question- if you have trouble clicking, you may need to copy and paste the link into your browser. Thank you.

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* 1. Please list the type of business that you represent and/or the name of your business. This will help us understand the diversity of the survey respondents.

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* 2. Would you be in support of an increase in Gas Tax? The legislature may look to implement either a gradual raise, flat rate or a base rate %. This may impact tourism as we are a drive-to destination.

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* 3. There have been 2 bills introduced regarding a post- Labor Day school start date in Maryland. This would have a significant impact on our region and our businesses from both a workforce and economic development/tourism perspective. HB 1069 Education- Beginning of School Year After Labor Day calls for a direct prohibition of schools starting before labor day and SB 0963- Task Force to study a Post Labor Day Start Date for Maryland Public Schools calls for a study of the implications of a post labor day start date. For more information on these bills, please visit http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2013RS/bills/hb/hb1069F.pdf AND http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2013RS/bills/sb/sb0963F.pdf
Please indicate if you would support, oppose or take no position.

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* 4. SB 0275/ HB 0226- The Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013 would alter the Maryland renewable energy portfolio standard program to include a specified amount of energy derived from offshore wind energy; prohibiting the portion of the renewable energy portfolio that represents offshore wind energy from applying to retail electricity sales by a supplier in excess of specified amounts of specified loads; defining "offshore wind renewable energy credit" for specified purposes; establishing an application process for specified proposed offshore wind energy projects; etc. The proposed wind farm is off the coast of Ocean City. For more detail, the entire bill may be viewed by clicking http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2013RS/bills/hb/hb0226F.pdf
Please indicate if you would support, oppose or take no position.

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* 5. SB 0819/HB 1156- Maryland Contributory Negligence Act would preserve the contributory negligence defense in its present form; and make the Act contingent on specified action taken by the Court of Appeals of Maryland. Currently, under contributory negligence, the injured party cannot recover damages if he or she is in any way at fault. However, there is a concern that this common law may be changed in MD when the Court of Appeals decides a pending case, Coleman v. Soccer Association of Columbia et al. Basically, this would open up the opportunity for numerous personal injury suits that would have never otherwise been taken to court. It could impact the insurance rates for businesses. By supporting the bill, you would keep the standard of contributory negligence in place. For more detail, the entire bill may be viewed by clicking http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2013RS/bills/sb/sb0819F.pdf
Please indicate if you would support, oppose or take no position.

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* 6. SB 683/HB 1204- Labor and Employment - Maryland Wage and Hour Law - Payment of Wages would require that the state increase hourly minimum wage rates incrementally over the course of the next 3 years, starting at $8.25 for 2013, $9.00 for 2014 and $10.00 for 2015. Certain exemptions of types of workers may apply. For more detail, the entire bill may be viewed by clicking http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2013RS/bills/hb/hb1204f.pdf
Please indicate if you would support, oppose or take no position.

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* 7. HB 0735/SB 0698 Sick and Safe leave Act requires employers to allow full-time and part-time employees to accrue paid sick and safe leave at a rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. An employee can accrue a maximum of 56 hours in a calendar year. An employee may not carry over more than 56 hours of accrued paid leave to the following calendar year and may not use more than 80 hours of accrued paid leave for such purposes in a calendar year. This legislation specifies a number of situations for which such accrued paid leave may be used. For more detail, the entire bill can be reviewed by clicking http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2013RS/bills/hb/hb0735f.pdf
Please indicate if you would support, oppose or take no position.

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* 8. Please provide any additional feedback or comments.

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