The Voice of Retail in Maryland

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In The News

Discover the latest news about Maryland Retailers Alliance and industry updates.

16 Mar, 2024
Maryland State Del. Marc Korman kicked off his testimony before colleagues in Annapolis by declaring, “It’s a fee bill.” He was referring to his proposal to add 50-cent fees on retail orders that are delivered to homes and adding the same fee on transportation network companies, which he said “is nerd-talk for Uber and Lyft.” Explaining why he’s proposing a new fee in a General Assembly session where legislative leaders have been resisting tax increases, Korman explained, “We have a problem.” That problem is a gaping 6-year, $3 billion transportation deficit across the state and it doesn’t include deferred projects such as the Red Line in Baltimore or Interstate 270 in Montgomery County. Under House Bill 1215 , when consumers order goods online, they would be assessed a 50-cent fee per transaction. Korman said that would be the case even if products from the same customer order were delivered in several different trips. Korman also said that the fee would be assessed on taxable items. “So if you were having just store groceries delivered, it would not apply because there’s no sales tax there,” he said, adding that if a customer were buying items like sneakers, the fee would be applied to that purchase. Korman explained why the bill targets the delivery of goods from online retailers. “The delivery vans and trucks are tearing up our roads, and the impact of those, believe it or not, is actually higher than if people just drove themselves to the market.” Cailey Locklair with the Maryland Retailers Association testified in opposition to the bill. Locklair called the fees “a regressive tax,” adding that “increasing prices for consumers and compliance costs for businesses will make it even harder for small businesses to grow and compete.” According to the fiscal note attached to the legislation, if enacted, the fees could generate a projected $248 million for the transportation trust fund by fiscal year 2029. If enacted, the law would go into effect July 1, 2025. Click here to read this article on WTOP .
08 Mar, 2024
The Maryland Retailers Association came out in opposition to online casino bills in the state Thursday. The MRA also shared results from a poll it commissioned that suggests a notable portion of Marylanders aren’t supportive of gambling expansion. The survey was conducted by Public Policy Polling. The poll, in which 570 Marylanders were surveyed over the phone, suggests 55% of Marylanders opposed online casino legalization when initially surveyed. Nearly 30% of respondents supported mobile casino apps being legalized in the state, while the final 15% of respondents didn’t know how they felt on the topic. “Marylanders in every region of the state, Republicans and Democrats alike, are united in their opposition of iGaming and iLottery,” Cailey Locklair, MRA President, said in a press release. “These policies would negatively impact not only the gaming and lottery industries but also every community that benefits from their local economic stimulation.” Click here to read the full article from USBETS .
23 Feb, 2024
Leadership Maryland announced the Executive Program’s Class of 2024, consisting of 52 business and community leaders from across the state chosen to participate in the professional development program dedicated to building a better Maryland. The Class of 2024, the Executive Program’s 31st class, reflects a cross-section of the state, including diversity of geographic location, profession, ethnicity, and gender. The program will run from April to December, and include five, two-day sessions focused on Maryland’s five main geographic regions and the most vital issues impacting economic development, education, health and human services, criminal justice, the environment and multi-culturalism/diversity across the state. More than 100 experts representing Maryland’s business, government, education, and nonprofit communities will serve as panelists and guest speakers. Leadership Maryland’s flagship Executive Program is open to senior-level executives with significant achievements in either their careers and/or their communities. Ideal Leadership Maryland members have a desire to learn more about Maryland’s most critical issues and a personal commitment to be a force for positive change in their organizations, their communities, and their state. Leadership Maryland Class of 2024 participants: OluwaTosin Adegbola, Ph.D. Executive Director of the Clara I. Adams Honors College, Morgan State University Tiffany C. Ahalt Director of Sales & Community Engagement, Visit Hagerstown & Washington County CVB George J. Arendt III Project Executive, Southway Builders Inc. Sonya L. Bigelow-Smith Director, Business Development, The Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council Stephen M. Blair President, Lyceum Insurance Services LLC Ted L. Book Jr. Vice President, Easton Velocity, Easton Utilities Adam W. Borden Vice President Digital Marketing, Live Casino & Hotel Kim L. Bradley Vice President, Total Rewards, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield John P. Brennan II Assistant Secretary, Maryland Department of Disabilities Kenneth S. Clash Chief Operating Officer, Enoch Pratt Free Library and State Library Resource Center Dr. Lorena I. de Leon Senior Director, Population Health and SDoH, Maryland Physicians Care Vineet K. Dhar Clinical Professor and Chair, University of Maryland, Baltimore Nicki Fiocco Director of Programs and Communications, Transform Mid-Atlantic Julia A. Glanz Deputy Secretary, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Garrick R. Good President, North East Housing Initiative Pam Gregory President/CEO, United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore (UWLES) Brian T. Hammond Owner/Chief Learning Officer, Bedford Louis & Ellicot, LLC – BLE Training Ian Hartman-O’Connell Senior Director, Policy Integration, AARP Starlet “Star” Hunter Director, Community Engagement, MGM National Harbor Jennifer D. Jones CEO, Howard County Economic Development Authority (HCEDA) Paul T. Kappel Jr. President and CEO, Junior Achievement of Central Maryland Heidi N. Keeney Special Projects Manager,Frederick County Government – Division of Emergency Management Damon L. Krieger Vice President, Legal Affairs, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc. Jennifer C. LaHatte Managing Director of Policy, Research & Government Affairs, Maryland Department of Commerce Cailey E. Locklair President, Maryland Retailers Alliance Jacqueline K. Lopez President, Premier Enterprise Solutions, LLC Victoria L. Miele Supervisor of Public Relations/Public Information Officer, Somerset County Public Schools Tereance R. Moore Principal Owner, Tereance Moore Consulting, LLC Yonelle Moore Lee, Esq. Vice Chair, Charles County Board of Education Linda A. Myers Vice President, School Programs, Kennedy Krieger Institute Benjamin R. Nichols President & CEO, Harkins Builders, Inc. Yanni M. Niebuhr, CFP CIO, BFG Financial Advisors Melissa A. Noel CEO/Business Owner, Noel’s Fire Protection, LLC Brian R. Ott Senior Vice President, The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company Tara A. Owens Vice President of Athletics and Recreation, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore Dr. Maarten L. Pereboom Dean, Fulton School of Liberal Arts, Salisbury University Stephen J. Pereira CIO, Calvert County Government Joseph L. “Terry” Rauh III Chief Finance & Operations Officer, Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) Paul W. Ruppert President & CEO, Baltimore Public Markets Corporation Daniel E. Schneckenburger Executive Director, Upper Shore Workforce Investment Board Adrienne M. Somerville Acting Director, Command Operations Group, Naval Air Systems Command Carolyn Teigland, Ed.D. CEO, Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education Heather R. Tinelli Director of Economic & Tourism Development, Queen Anne’s County Andrae J. Townsel Superintendent, Calvert County Public Schools Hon. Todd M. Turner, Esq. Executive Director, Prince George’s County Office of Ethics & Accountability John D. Urbach II Director, Government Strategic Business Unit, Edward Performance Solutions Laura E. Weeldreyer Executive Director, Maryland Family Network Jeffrey D. Weiss Chief Financial Officer, Qlarant Dawn C. White Vice President, Gas, Baltimore Gas and Electric Sonya A. Whited Senior Director of Product and Innovation, Perdue Farms Portia Wu Secretary, Maryland Department of Labor Amanda C. Zinn President & CEO, Leadership Baltimore County Click here to view this article from The Daily Record.
15 Feb, 2024
Rudy Callahan had dozed off by the time Maryland lawmakers took up the bill bearing his name, a proposal that would set state requirements on baby food testing that are stricter than the Food and Drug Administration’s. The chubby-cheeked redhead, now 17 months old, was among hundreds of people who reported lead poisoning to federal agencies after eating apple puree pouches with contaminated cinnamon. His family traveled to the State House in Annapolis from their home in Calvert County this week to focus public attention on what experts described in testimony as a vulnerability in product safety. Rudy’s blood-lead levels, caught by routine testing last summer, were at one point nearly six times the minimum risk threshold. “Rudy’s lead poisoning carried many feelings: shock, anger, outrage, guilt, frustration, fear, worry and uncertainty about his future,” his mother, Sarah Callahan, told lawmakers Wednesday, as her son lay sleeping on his father’s lap. “As a parent, your instinct is to always protect your child and keep them safe.” The proposal before lawmakers would require makers of baby food sold in Maryland to test for toxic heavy metals — part of a wave of state-level efforts to regulate food for children under 2 as the FDA works to establish voluntary limits for lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. That plan, called Closer to Zero, was announced after 2021 congressional reports on toxic heavy metals in baby food raised awareness of the issue. ... Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Alliance, said she worked with Taveras, the lawmaker, to amend the bill to mirror California’s testing protocols. With the changes, she said, the alliance remained neutral on the bill. State officials say the financial impact of the bill could be as high as $28,000 a year to pay one part-time contract employee to review heavy metal test results for baby food sold in Maryland and to make sure companies are posting the results. The cost to a small business making baby food sold in the state could be significant if the company does not already test for heavy metals, the analysis states. A state Senate hearing on the bill is set for later this month. Click here to read the full article from The Washington Post .
09 Feb, 2024
If you've ever wondered why you can't buy beer and wine in Maryland supermarkets, you're not alone. It turns out Maryland is one of the few states that bans booze in grocery stores. However, there's now a new effort to change that. It goes back more than 40 years! Shoppers in Maryland will tell you it’s annoying. You can buy all your groceries in one store, but you have to go to a different store to buy beer or wine. Should beer and wine be sold in Maryland grocery stores? If you've ever wondered why you can't buy beer and wine in Maryland supermarkets, you're not alone. It turns out Maryland is one of the few states that bans booze in grocery stores. However, there's now a new effort to change that. FOX 5's Tom Fitzgerald has the story. The retail analysts FOX 5 spoke with said it’s not only a pain, but the state is losing out on lost revenue. Advocates are launching a statewide campaign to get lawmakers in Annapolis to allow beer and wine sales in grocery and convenience stores. They point to a poll finding almost 80% of Marylanders support supermarket beer and wine at supermarkets. The Maryland Retailers Association told FOX 5 that, so far, over 50,000 people have called on lawmakers to make the change. "So Maryland is one of only four states left where you cannot buy beer or wine because of a 1978 very archaic prohibition that exists in this state. It's something that we’ve been working on the past couple of years and Marylanders clearly want this," said Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Association.  Click here for the article and to watch Cailey's interview with FOX5 DC.
22 Nov, 2023
Maryland Retailers Looking For Robust Holiday Season

1948


advocating since 1948

5,000+


active member businesses

$67.8BILLION


retail's direct impact on Maryland's GDP

500,000+


retail jobs in Maryland

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