Maryland Lobby Day 2010: Preserving Healthcare

Maryland’s annual Lobby Day is coming up on Thursday, March 11, and members are getting ready for a big day in Annapolis, the state’s capital. More than 200 1199SEIU members will hold a rally in Annapolis’s historic Lawyer’s Mall and meet with legislators to ensure that Maryland’s critical healthcare needs are funded.

This year’s Lobby Day also features our first ever Young Worker’s event. As part of 1199’s effort to engage younger members to be tomorrow’s leaders, 40 young workers will spend an extra day in Annapolis, learning about the Union’s political action work, building leadership skills, and meeting with lawmakers.

Like most states, Maryland is laboring under the effects of the national financial crisis. During the current 90-day legislative session, Governor Martin O’Malley and the General Assembly are struggling to close a $2 billion budget gap and pass a balanced budget, as mandated by state law, by April 12. 1199SEIU members are fighting to keep funding in the budget for hospitals and to keep the financially-strapped Prince George’s hospital system funded during a transfer of assets.

The governor’s budget proposes $123 million in Medicaid cuts in the next year to help close the budget gap. The governor’s budget does not call for direct cuts to nursing homes, but no additional funds are allocated. Another critical funding need is the Prince George’s hospitals. The work of the Prince George’s Hospital Authority ends in May of this year, at which time the Authority is charged with transferring assets to a new operator. At the same time, state and county funds that have been supplementing the system will end. The termination of funds that have been keeping the hospitals open will cripple a new operator’s ability to effectively move the hospital system forward.

1199ers are advocating for measures that raise revenues for important services. This includes a renewal of the “millionaire’s tax” which is set to expire this year, and could result in the loss of approximately $100 million for the state budget. The member-lobbyists will also support a combined reporting bill that would compel Maryland businesses who operate in several states to report all of its profits to the state for taxation regardless of where they are deposited. This could generate $109-$170 million dollars in the next year. 1199 also hopes to raise alcohol taxes to generate revenue. The hard liquor tax was last raised in 1955; the beer and wine tax was last raised in 1972. A proposed measure would increase alcohol taxes by a dime a drink and raise $214 million in new revenues each year.

For more information about Lobby Day, please call Ricarra Jones at 410-332-1199.