Governor signs RELIEF Act, lawmakers look on

By Madeline Stewart
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer

The RELIEF Act of 2021, emergency legislation that cancels state and local income taxes on unemployment benefits and sends checks to hundreds of thousands of Marylanders, was signed into law by Gov. Larry Hogan during a ceremony Monday at the State House.

“The RELIEF Act offer a real lifeline to those hardest hit people who are struggling to get by and small businesses desperately trying to stay afloat,” Hogan said at the bill signing attended by leaders of the General Assembly.

The bill contains more than $1 billion in aid. Hogan said “people who have lost their jobs will not have to pay any state and local income taxes on their unemployment benefits, letting them keep more money in their pockets.” Small businesses will be given tax relief that enables them to keep up to $9,000 in their pockets over the next 90 days so they can keep their doors open and keep more people on the payroll,” he said.

Stimulus checks of $500 will be sent to low- and moderate-income Maryland families defined by income and family size. Individuals who filed for Earned Income Tax Credit will receive $300 checks. These payments total $178 million in relief that will reach 400,000 Marylanders, Hogan said.

State and local taxes on unemployment benefits will be cancelled for the tax years of 2020 and 2021, resulting in more tax refunds during filing season for individuals who collected unemployment.

Small businesses will receive sales tax credit of up to $3,000 for three months and an exclusion of their performance in the 2020 fiscal year in the calculation of their 2021 unemployment tax rate. The RELIEF Act’s loan and grant forgiveness plan will safeguard business owners against tax increases triggered by the use of state loans or grant funds.

Proposed and passed within three weeks, the emergency legislation had nearly unanimous bipartisan support in both chambers. The House of Delegates passed it nearly unanimously with a 128-1 vote. Then, the Senate voted unanimously, 45-0, on Friday afternoon.

This act is the latest effort by the Hogan administration to lessen the financial devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic that started last March and continues to ravage parts of the state. The latest report on Monday said the state is averaging a new all-time high of 27,732 shots per day as critical workers in high-risk settings and people over 65 are vaccinated within stage 1C of the vaccination plan.

“We still face a long and difficult winter ahead, and many Marylanders are still in need, but our vaccination rates are rising every day as we get shots into the arms of our most vulnerable citizens and all of our key health metrics are continuing to steadily decline,” Hogan said earlier Monday.

The RELIEF Act of 2021 was described as the largest anti-poverty expansion in the state’s history. In addition to unemployment benefits and relief checks, the legislation also contains aid to food pantries, direct aid to increase tutoring and prepare schools to reopen, and utility relief for nearly 40% of Marylanders.

The nearly unanimous passage of the emergency RELIEF Act was a source of pride for the governor, Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne Jones at the bill signing.

“At a time when so many Americans have stopped believing Democracy can work for them, and as Washington remains divided and gridlocked, Maryland once again has shown the nation that both parties can still come together, and that we can put the people’s priorities first, and that we can deliver real, bipartisan common-sense solutions to the problems that face us,” Hogan said.