The Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce (GSSCC), a nonprofit member organization representing some 300 businesses and non-profit organizations, is committed to furthering a vibrant and diversified local economy in which its members, and all businesses, can grow and prosper. The Chamber seeks to foster the growth of existing businesses, encourage new business creation, improve competitiveness in the region, maintain and enhance property values, and promote consumer and investor interest and confidence in the greater Silver Spring area.
 
Each year, GSSCC identifies anticipated critical issues and sets legislative priorities for the upcoming General Assembly session.  These priorities will guide our advocacy efforts with members of the Maryland General Assembly and serve as the tool to address the challenges faced by our member businesses.  Our goal is to help members of the General Assembly understand and appreciate the needs and concerns of employers so that we can work collaboratively toward solutions that make our community a better place to live, work, and operate a business. 

A Tax Structure that Stimulates Business Growth & Entrepreneurship

A tax system that assures a robust business sector is critical to generating the revenue necessary to provide the services Marylanders expect. We support tax policy that reduces the cost of doing business and focuses on strengthening our competitive tax climate to help attract and retain businesses, talent, and investment. We believe that new taxes on business, increased corporate and pass-through taxes, alternative minimum taxes, mandatory combined reporting, and expansion of sales tax to business and professional services will all make it more difficult to do business and discourage economic growth. The tax structure should not penalize success. Critical issues include:

• Alternatives to Raising Taxes:  We encourage the General Assembly to evaluate all other alternatives before choosing to raise taxes on businesses as a source of revenue, as the state’s economy continues its slow recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and other factors increasing the cost of doing business.
• Provide Tax Credits to Increase Hiring and Employee Retention:  As employers struggle in today’s tight job market, we support incentives designed to help employers retain their employees as well as hire new workers.
• ​No New Sales Tax on Services:  We oppose any efforts to expand the sales tax on services not currently listed in Maryland law.

Employment Policies that Encourage Private Sector Job Growth

Policies that encourage private sector job creation and growth contribute to Maryland’s economic vitality.  We support preserving an employer’s ability to manage its workforce to best suit its business needs (maintaining control over wages, scheduling, benefits, leave policies).  Measures to regulate employment practices must be less burdensome, more business-friendly, clear and understandable, and create an environment to expand and retain existing jobs.  Critical issues include:

• Pre-emption: We support legislative language requiring for a single law for the state instead of a patchwork among hundreds of jurisdictions.
• Restrictive Scheduling: We oppose unreasonably restrictive employee shift scheduling requirements.
• Tip Credit Repeal: During the 2023 session a bill to repeal the tip credit was defeated. The same legislation has been reintroduced. The Chamber is in strong opposition to this piece of legislation and feel individual employers not guaranteeing their employees minimum wage should be addressed, not an entire industry.

Removing Regulatory Barriers to Business Success

A state-wide regulatory structure that is consistent, fair, responsive, and predictable will encourage business growth and job creation to build Maryland’s economy.  Critical issues include:

• Consider Fiscal Impact on Business: We urge the General Assembly to adopt legislation requiring that no new laws or regulations are enacted without first conducting, publishing, and considering a full analysis of the cost of compliance and the fiscal economic impact on the affected businesses.
• Delay in Implementation: We urge the General Assembly to include in all new regulations an implementation delay of at least 18 months so businesses can budget for the change.

A Workforce Prepared to Meet Current and Future Employer Needs

Today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce.  We advocate for an educational and vocational ecosystem focused on developing, attracting, and retaining a competitive workforce. We believe in strategies that seamlessly link education and workforce development and embed skills-based learning into academic instruction. Critical issues include:

• Support for Community Colleges: We continue to support investment in our community college. 
• Prepare Youth for College and the Workplace: We also advocate for reforming Maintenance of Effort to give counties flexibility to address local fiscal realities and accountability in the public school system that links spending to results and assures graduates who can read, write, and do basic mathematics.
• Second Chance Employment: We support expanding educational attainment and employment opportunities formerly incarcerated Marylanders.  At the same time, employers must be protected from liability associated with hiring and customers/consumers from risk.

An Unemployment System that Works for Employees AND Employers:

State policies should provide fair unemployment insurance benefits to workers without creating an undue burden on job creators.  Critical issues include:

• Solvency of the Maryland Unemployment Trust Fund: Efforts to ensure a healthy balance for the unemployment insurance trust fund as it rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic should not result in increased premium rates for employers.
• Unemployment System Reform: The business community supports an unemployment insurance system that provides transparency for employers and benefit recipients.
• Relief from Soaring Unemployment Insurance Rates for Employers:  During the COVID-19 pandemic, employers were forced, through no choice or their own, to lay off employees.  Because of the current structure of the system, employers are seeing 300+% increases in rates, at a time when their businesses have yet to recover financially.  Rates need to be normalized to pre-COVID levels and no increases should be imposed until businesses have had a chance to recover. Better yet, remove COVID-19 lay offs from the equation.

Transportation Investment that Assures Economic Vitality

As the economic engine of Maryland, Montgomery County needs a reasoned and balanced approach to providing an array of reliable transportation options that enhance employment, business, and quality of life.  This system that includes roads and transit serves all residents and businesses and should be supported by public dollars. Legislators need to support policies that foster people’s transportation choices and realize that “one-size does not fit all” for the transportation needs of the range of the population. Critical issues include: 

• Metro System Reliability:  Maryland must continue State funding for this important regional transportation link and hold Metro accountable for the reliability of the system, bloated personnel, and costs.
• Roads and Bridges: We support adequate funding to sustain the State’s network of roads and bridges.
• Reduce Congestion on I-270 and I-495:  We support measures that improve traffic flow and reduce congestion on these two major regional arteries.
• Vehicle Emission Reductions: Policies adopted to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals should consider all the costs, both direct and indirect, associated with implementation. Further, legislators must not use a “cookie cutter formula,” rather they must understand and appreciate that policies adopted in other states may not be appropriate in Maryland because of demographic, infrastructure, and other differences between states and populations.