The RELIEF Act – a $1.5 billion economic relief package to provide stimulus payments, grants, and tax breaks to low-income Marylanders, struggling businesses, and those seeking unemployment benefits during the pandemic – won unanimous approval Friday in the Maryland Senate, and is now being fast-tracked to the House of Delegates where leaders are working to get the bill passed within about a week. The unusual speed at which the bill is currently travelling through the legislature is attributed to bipartisan collaboration by lawmakers, who are seeking to provide financial aid as soon as possible in order to combat damages caused by the pandemic.
Since its introduction to the Senate, the package has been amended and expanded upon, with provisions bolstering assistance payments and directing more funding into areas including workforce development, neighborhood revitalization, and transit. Some of the RELIEF Act’s key provisions include:
- Providing direct stimulus to low and moderate-income Marylanders (through two rounds totaling up to $450 per individual or $750 per family).
- Eliminating local and state income taxes on unemployment benefits.
- Making one-time $1,000 payments to individuals currently undergoing the unemployment process.
- Eliminating utility and rental debt for certain families.
- Providing small businesses with sales tax credits of up to $3,000 per month for four months (for a total of up to $12,000).
- Extending unemployment tax relief for small businesses.
- Eliminating tax increase triggered by the use of state loan or grant funds.
The passage was welcomed by Governor Hogan who, after previously referring to the package as the top legislative priority of the session in his State of the State address, made a statement thanking the Senate for their swift decision-making, saying:
“With so many fighting just to hang on in this unprecedented crisis, Marylanders simply cannot afford to wait. Every day that goes by without passing this emergency legislation means more struggling families and small businesses will suffer. This must continue to be the most important priority of the legislative session…Let’s once again show the rest of the nation how to put aside partisan politics and work together by delivering this vital relief at an urgent and historic pace.”
