Passing Maryland Senate Bill 54

Help Maryland battle unemployment. Maryland has been struggling with job creation in recent years. According to an article by the Baltimore Business Journal, “Maryland lost more than 10,000 jobs in February, raising the unemployment rate to 7.7 percent.” Marylanders are still looking to their Congress to take more action in jobs creation legislation.

Senate Bill (SB) 54 is one of the proposed options for reducing unemployment. Senate Bill 54 had its first hearing on January 21st and its third reading just passed unanimously on the 28th of January in the Senate and 29th of March in the House. The Senate Bill 54 looks to spark employment in small businesses by providing loans to businesses with fewer than fifty employees and in areas affected by cuts in defense spending.

Loans would allow businesses to grow and expand, even in these tough economic times. The funds would be provided by the Maryland Economic Adjustment Fund which was created to help companies struggling from dislocation due to defense cuts. The goal is to allow businesses to receive funding when they are denied loans due to “tightened lending guidelines” offered by “normal lending channels.” The bill notes that the funds shall be used to “make loans to new or existing companies, modernize manufacturing operations, develop commercial applications for technology, or to compete in new economic markets.” Although it is not an exhaustive list, it is important to understand the focus on expansion and modernization of small businesses.

This bill is supported by the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. Please sign below.

Sources:

"Maryland Unemployment Rate Rises to 7.7 Percent in February - Baltimore Business Journal." Baltimore News | Baltimore Business Journal. 26 Mar. 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. .

Rep. No. The Employment Situation-USDL-10-0394 at 1 (2010). Print.

"Bill Positions." Maryland Chamber of Commerce - Legislative Advocacy, Business Resources, Timely Communications, Events, Get Connected. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. .

Maryland Chamber of Commerce. Legislative Position. Http://www.mdchamber.org/legislative/bills/pdfs/SB54.pdf. 21 Jan. 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. http://www.mdchamber.org/legislative/bills/pdfs/SB54.pdf

Senate Bill 54, Http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/sb0054.htm (2010) (enacted). Print.