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Greetings,
With less then two weeks to go before the end of the 2018 legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly is heading into the home stretch.
We are closely monitoring labor and employment legislation that could impact credit unions. Legislation that would have raised the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour has stalled in committee and is unlikely to advance. A bill that would have r
equired employers to remove the criminal record check box on hiring applications, received an unfavorable committee report. L
egislation to prohibit employers from using salary history in the hiring process has been approved by the House and is now under consideration in the Senate Finance Committee.
We are also following the movement of several consumer protection bills. The House has passed legislation that would require internet service providers to notify Maryland customers of data breaches in which personal information was stolen. The bill is now headed to a Senate committee. Senate and House versions of an omnibus consumer protection bill need to be reconciled to advance. The Association had been working to amend the bill to include a study on the impact to financial institutions when a breach occurs of consumers' personal information maintained by a business. Instead, the Maryland Commission on Consumer Financial Protection is expected to take up the study after the legislative session ends. The Association was successful in its efforts to move provisions on the fiduciary rule and arbitration out of the bill to the Commission study.
The D.C. Council is considering a bill to update the District's data breach and privacy laws. The legislation would require all businesses to take reasonable steps to protect consumers' data and ensure violations would be subject to the penalty provisions of D.C.'s Consumer Protection Procedures Act.
Here's the political roundup:
- Oral arguments will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, March 28 in Benisek vs. Lamone, a Republican challenge to Maryland's congressional lines, specifically to the contours of the 6th District. Governor Larry Hogan has filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of the plaintiffs.
- The House and Senate will give final approval to Governor Hogan's budget proposal this week. Lawmakers cut more than $300 million, less than 1 percent, from the $44 billion state budget.
Have a wonderful week!
John Bratsakis
President/CEO
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