COLUMBIA, MD, June 23, 2023 – The Maryland Free Enterprise Foundation (Maryland Free), a statewide, nonpartisan, non-profit organization, has released the 2023 edition of its annual publication, Roll Call, now available online at www.marylandfree.org/roll-call/.
Senator Michael W. McKay scored 88% indicating a pro-business/pro-job growth position. A score of at least 70% is indicative of a legislator supporting a strong business climate and economic growth in our state.
Each year, Maryland Free’s State Advisory Council identifies recorded votes from the most recent General Assembly session that affect—positively or negatively—a healthy business climate and job growth throughout Maryland. Maryland Free includes these bills in Roll Call and analyzes the respective votes to produce a score for each legislator.
For the 2023 analysis, Roll Call analyzed 8 Senate votes and 13 House votes. An analysis by county reveals that the delegations of most Maryland counties have voting records (70% +) indicative of pro-job-growth and pro-business approaches that lead to a positive economic outlook for the State. Four counties – Calvert, Frederick, Baltimore, and Anne Arundel – are somewhat moderate with scores between 40% and 70%, while five jurisdictions – Howard, Prince George’s, Charles, and Montgomery Counties plus Baltimore City – all have scores around 20%
This year’s edition of Roll Call takes a close look at five key variables that determine whether a state economy will thrive or wither. The report then matches those variables with bills from the latest General Assembly session to see if the legislature mitigated barriers to economic growth and prosperity for Marylanders or exacerbated them.The variables include: 1) personal income tax rate; 2) corporate income tax rate; 3) whether or not a state institutes death taxes (in fact, Maryland is the only state in the nation to impose both death taxes – estate and inheritance; whereas most states no longer impose either death tax); 4) minimum wage rates; and 5) whether a state has right-to-work laws or forced unionism. Low taxes and minimum wage rates, and right-to-work laws, have been clearly shown to improve a state’s economic outlook.