Governor Hogan Announces Release of Maryland’s American Rescue Plan, State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Report |
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Maryland implemented a series of economic relief measures throughout the pandemic, including the RELIEF Act, which provided critical tax relief and economic stimulus for struggling Maryland families, small businesses, and those who lost their jobs due to the global pandemic. The state also established relief initiatives to help workers, renters, restaurants, farmers, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, entertainment venues, and local tourism agencies.
In March 2021, Governor Hogan, Senate President Bill Ferguson, and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones announced a bipartisan plan to allocate the resources the state received through the American Rescue Plan. This plan enabled the state to effectively and efficiently allocate funds to meet urgent needs, jumpstart the recovery, and help underserved communities. The report includes summaries of spending for each project, as well as details about community engagement, equitable outcomes, and project performance. Performance highlights include:
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Protecting Jobs and The Economy: In February 2020, Maryland’s unemployment rate was 4.2%. Two months later, it rose to 9.5%. As of June 2022, the state’s unemployment rate (4.0%) was two tenths of a percent lower than the pre-pandemic rate. As of May 2022, Maryland’s labor force participation was 97.5% of February 2020 levels.
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Health Equity Resources: Funds were utilized to help advance the work of the state’s Vaccine Equity Task Force (VETF)—the first of its kind in the nation—and implement the Maryland Health Equity Resource Act, to provide significant new grant funding to address health disparities, improve health outcomes, expand access to primary care and prevention services, and help reduce health care costs.
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Universal Broadband: The state’s transformative Connect Maryland initiative to bring universal broadband to Marylanders utilizes SLFRF and federal Coronavirus Capital Projects Funds. ‘Last mile’ broadband will improve access to online education and telemedicine.
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Assistance for Marylanders In Need: The number of individuals participating in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program increased from approximately 25,000 pre-pandemic to a high of over 57,000 during the state of emergency. The State of Maryland utilized American Rescue Plan funds to meet the caseload demand, including an increased monthly amount of $100 for Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) and Temporary Disability Assistance (TDAP). In addition, funds were utilized to help assist customers with electric and gas bills, helping to lower statewide arrearages to pre-pandemic levels for most utilities.
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Unemployment Benefits: Pandemic-related unemployment claims depleted the state’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund. As of September 27, 2021, Maryland paid off its federal UI loan balance with SLFRF as allowed under the U.S. Treasury’s Final Rule and Senate Bill SB 811. This action averted the federal unemployment insurance tax credit reduction that was set to trigger in 2022.
State budget officials will continue to monitor spending and project performance to learn more about the impact of these projects on recovery efforts.
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Solar Technical Assistance Grants Available to State and Local Governments |
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The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) is pleased to announce the opening of the Solar Technical Assistance Program. This program provides technical assistance to state and local government agencies to evaluate the potential for, and to site, solar arrays on or around government buildings. Funded through the Strategic Energy Investment Fund, the program also offers access to technical resources and vetted contractors.
The program provides technical assistance for entities who are interested in including on-site solar generation, but do not have the expertise to evaluate potential issues for siting them. This information is needed to allow government entities to make decisions concerning the location, use (to include resiliency options), and budgeting of solar energy projects.
MEA is providing $400,000 of technical assistance in partnership with the Maryland Environmental Service. To learn more about application requirements, please visit the program webpage. If you are interested in applying for the program or finding out more information on solar siting, please contact Program Manager, David Comis, at [email protected] or by 410-537-4064. To learn more about the programs and grants MEA offers, please visit our website at energy.maryland.gov.
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Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives Announces New Service and Volunteerism Director Appointment |
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The Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives today announced the appointment of the new director for the Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism, Dr. Samélia Okpodu-Pyuzza.
“Dr. Samélia Okpodu-Pyuzza has demonstrated leadership through her years of dedicated service to Maryland,” said Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives Executive Director Steven J. McAdams. “Her service experience and exceptional programmatic and project management skills are an asset to our office and we are thrilled to continue our work with her in this new role.”
Founded in 1993, the Governor's Office on Service and Volunteerism uses federal funds to support 17 AmeriCorps programs that support disaster relief, economic opportunity, education, veterans and military families, public safety, health, and the environment in Maryland. As a unit of the Governor's Office of Community Initiatives and a component of the Maryland State Service Commission, the office has honored nearly 100,000 Maryland volunteers on behalf of Governor Larry Hogan.
For more information about the Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism, visit gosv.maryland.gov.
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Applications Now Open for BGE Energizing Small Grant Program |
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Through the BGE Energizing Small Business Grants Program, eligible businesses located in BGE's service area will have the opportunity to apply for grants of up to $20,000 this year. During the first year of the BGE Energizing Small Business Grants program, BGE, Hello Alice, and GEN Global engaged over 400 partner organizations and 10,000 small businesses, dispersed $3.75M in funds to 296 diverse small business owners across a variety of industries in the state of Maryland and provided continued support to non-recipients through access to unlimited tools, resources and step-by-step guides within the Hello Alice platform. Use the link below to review the eligibility requirements and access the application.
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Attorney General Frosh Announces the Formation of a Nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force: Maryland Joins National Bipartisan Effort |
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Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh announced that Maryland is joining a nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force of 50 states to investigate and take legal action against the telecommunications companies responsible for bringing foreign robocalls into the United States. The bipartisan Task Force has one goal: to cut down on illegal robocalls.
According to the National Consumer Law Center and Electronic Privacy Information Center, over 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans every day. These scam calls include Social Security Administration fraud against seniors, Amazon scams against consumers, and many other scams targeting all consumers, including some of the most vulnerable. In 2021, scammers took $29.8 billion dollars through fraudulent calls, most of which originated overseas.
Gateway providers – the companies that allow foreign calls into the United States – cannot turn a blind eye to the illegal calls using their network. The Task Force will focus on companies that profit by facilitating fraudulent calls.
In the meantime, Attorney General Frosh offers the following tips to avoid scams and unwanted calls:
- Be wary of callers who ask you to pay by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency.
- Look out for prerecorded calls from imposters posing as government agencies. The Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service don’t typically make phone calls to individuals.
- Don’t answer an incoming phone call when you don’t recognize the number, and don’t return calls to unfamiliar phone numbers.
- If you do pick up, don’t interact with the caller in any way, press numbers, or speak to anyone. Hang up the phone.
- Don’t provide any personal or financial information over the phone.
- Scammers may also text you. Don’t click on any links you receive in text messages.
- Register your phone number(s) with the Do Not Call registry online at www.DoNotCall.gov or by phone at 1-888-382-1222.
- File a “Do Not Call or Text” complaint at https://www.donotcall.gov/report.html.
- File a complaint with the Maryland Office of Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/CPD/default.aspx.
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With each newsletter, we are providing a link that gives our constituents access to "tutorials" located on the Maryland General Assembly Website. These tutorials will aid you as a citizen to navigate bill tracking, finding a legislator, understanding a bill page, as well as instructions for witness sign up for a specific piece of legislation. We hope this will give you a better understanding of how our legislative process works. |
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