An amended and expanded version of Governor Hogan's COVID RELIEF (Recovery for the Economy, Livelihoods, Industries, Entrepreneurs, and Families) Act was passed in the Maryland Senate last week. The package, now at $1.5 billion now heads to the House of Delegates, who are working on their own version of the legislation already passed by senators. The Senate bill, as amended, is a significant bipartisan effort.

The package will make available significant tax breaks for small businesses, as well as millions of dollars in grants, which includes money for entertainment, restaurants, and other hospitality venues. The RELIEF Act’s loan and grant forgiveness plan would safeguard Maryland business owners against any tax increase triggered by the use of state loan or grant funds. The bill also provides $750 dollars in direct payments to low-income families and gives $1,000 each to those who are still waiting for unemployment insurance benefits.

See a summary here.

Want to highlight how your business successfully pivoted? Share your story with the Chamber by emailing Jane Redicker here.

The COVID-19 vaccine raises many questions for employers. Should you mandate it? Should you recommend it? What policies do you need?

This program presented by Marc Engel and Michael Neary from Lerch, Early & Brewer, Chtd. . will address these questions and more to help employers plan for the day when the vaccine is readily available.

Join us for your second (or third!) cup of coffee at the Morning Coffee Break with the Chamber. Get a mid-morning boost of energy by networking with your chamber peers. Catch up over coffee, share what your business is up to, and make new connections.

The Chamber recently provided members with the opportunity to learn about the COVID-19 vaccine from Dr. Melissa Clark, CCI Health & Wellness Services, Dr. Yancy Phillips, Holy Cross Health, and Dr. Andrew Catanzaro, White Oak Medical Center. Thank you, doctors, for sharing your valuable medical expertise with us.

The recording of the panel discussion can be viewed on the Chamber YouTube page here.

With elections over, COVID-19 vaccines being distributed, weather forecasts holding true and an encouraging economic outlook, favorable third-party energy rates are just around the corner. There’s no better time to consider enrolling in GSSCC’s Energy Purchasing Cooperative.

The strategic partnership between GSSCC and CQI Associates means lower energy costs and long-term budget stability. How? By leveraging the aggregated energy usage of members of 23 chambers of commerce, CQI has the purchasing power to negotiate rates much lower than an individual company could attain on its own. Participants who signed onto the co-op realized a combined annual savings of $889,600, which equates to an average of $4,000 per company annually.

Applications will be accepted between February 1 and February 26. Here’s a link to the application. Want to learn more?

CQI Associates will host informational Zoom webinars on the following dates:

* New member Spice Street, a restaurant featuring authentic Indian dishes with a focus on Indian street food, is offering 20% off a carryout order placed online. Read here for more information on how to claim the coupon.

See your company's news here! Send us your news releases and news items by noon on Friday for publication in the following Monday's edition. Click here for guidelines on submitting Member News.

If you have received a text from “Maryland-MDot Urgent” addressing “MDot customer” with a link, please ignore the text. This text was not sent by any agency associated with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), including the MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. It is SPAM and has been reported to MDOT’s IT Department. DO NOT click on the link and DELETE the message. If you did open it and clicked the link, for information on identity theft and ways to protect your identity, see Maryland Attorney General’s ID Theft page for help here.

MDOT and its business units would not ask customers to provide this personal information in this way. We take the privacy our customers and their personal information very seriously.

* Non-Profit Team Virtual Meeting - 9 a.m. on Tuesday, February 9.

* Membership Development Committee Virtual Meeting - 9 a.m. on Tuesday, February 23.

* Economic Development Committee Virtual Meeting - 9 a.m. on Wednesday, February 24. Topic is update on The Purple Line.

Corporate Partners - Downtown Silver Spring; Lee Development Group; Montgomery College; Joseph W. McCartin Insurance;

 Business Partners - Andalman & Flynn, AFI Silver Theatre; Apex Home 

 Partners - Peak Performance Digital; Bell Flowers; EBA Ernest Bland Associates; Image360.