Blog
The 2023 Legislative Session Begins Today
Jan 11, 2023
Today marks the start of the 445th Maryland legislative session.
As we welcome incoming Governor Wes Moore and the many new faces and leaders in the General Assembly, we know that this session will undoubtedly be filled with change, opportunity and renewed energy to tackle the State’s public policy issues.
Our team at the Maryland Chamber is hard at work to be your voice, and to ensure lawmakers understand how you are driving our economy, creating jobs and helping ensure every Marylander has a chance to succeed.
This session, we have identified four legislative priorities to guide our strategy and advocacy efforts:
1 — Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program: We support legislation that addresses the conflicting mandates and broad definitions included in the current paid family medical leave insurance program passed in 2022.
2 — Incentivizing Statewide Connectivity: We support the introduction of market incentives designed to aid in faster broadband deployment that will more quickly address Maryland’s digital divide.
3 — Increasing Child Care Availability: We support legislative and budget initiatives designed to expand and support childcare facilities so that more Marylanders are able to get back to work.
4 — Workforce Development: We support all initiatives aimed at addressing this issue. We have long supported legislation enhancing second-chance employment programs and legislation protecting employers from certain liabilities associated with hiring justice-involved individuals.
Additional key issues that we anticipate include potential changes to accelerate the minimum wage increase and policies around adult-use legalization of cannabis that will impact employers and Maryland’s workforce.
How You Can Help
With the many changes we will see this session, it is critically important that Maryland job creators make their voices heard to lawmakers during the 2023 legislative session. Here are a few ways you can help:
1 — Join our ACTION NETWORK, and receive alerts when action is needed on critical issues that affect your business. Member advocacy is critical to ensuring state legislators fully consider the economic costs of those policy decisions.
2 — Get involved in one of our eleven policy committees who meet regularly to review legislation that will impact our 6,400+ members — small business owners, titans of industry and everyone in between.
3 — Help us educate lawmakers by sharing your challenges and the great work you are doing to advance economic recovery and growth. Tell us how policies in Annapolis are impacting your business by filling out our story submission form.
4 — Stay updated in real-time on our efforts and successes on behalf of the business community using our Bill Tracker, available exclusively to members by logging into our by logging in to our Member Portal.
Under the eight years of leadership from Governor Larry Hogan, Maryland has made huge strides in fostering a pro-business environment. We will do all we can to make sure this momentum continues in the next administration. Maryland can’t afford to backslide, especially as our businesses struggle to navigate an inflationary economy and a crippling workforce shortage.
We’ve got your back. We will advocate on your behalf and focus on policies supporting economic stability while fighting off those that create obstacles and added costs to doing business in our state. Together, we will make Maryland the best place to live, work and own a business.
Sincerely,
Mary D. Kane
President & CEO
Maryland Chamber of Commerce
