Day: February 3, 2015

Businesses fight bill to require paid sick leave

Businesses fight bill to require paid sick leave

One of the most intense battles that business will fight in the Maryland legislature this year began Tuesday as the Senate Finance Committee took up Sen. Catherine Pugh’s bill to require many businesses to offer paid sick leave.

Advocates for the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (SB 40) stressed the positive benefits for workers and their families while businesses described the negative impact on their productivity and costs.

State Roundup, February 3, 2015

Supporters of mandated sick leave optimistic over bill’s chances; Red Line opponents claim proponents misleading on availability of federal funds; Gov. Hogan’s first set of Cabinet appointments headed for confirmation; Serafini, Ready take seats in Senate; Ciliberti says he’s replacing Schulz; legislature’s first Latino Caucus forms; in op-ed for the NY Times, former Gov. O’Malley criticizes Obama off-shore drilling proposal; and, thanks to Hogan victory, state GOP coffers filling up.

Health programs endangered by declining federal support

Health programs endangered by declining federal support

As the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene discussed Gov. Larry Hogan’s 2% across-the-board budget cuts on Friday, Sen. Adelaide Eckardt of the Senate Budget and Tax committee questioned the future of 68 mental health program facilities DHMH has created the past two years through aid provided by the Affordable Care Act.

Eckardt, a psychiatric nurse from the Eastern Shore, described DHMHs’ growth of mental health programs in the past two years as “pretty remarkable,” but voiced concerns that if the department doesn’t locate state funds to cover reducing federal funds, Maryland will begin backtracking.

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