Maryland Chamber

Two top Republican legislators rejected endorsements from the Maryland Chamber of Commerce yesterday to protest the chamber's policy of backing only incumbents.Del. Robert H. Kittleman, the House GOP Leader, and Del. Robert L. Flanagan, the House GOP whip, said the chamber is worried mainly about buying "access" to legislators. Its incumbents-only policy undermines efforts to make the General Assembly more friendly to business, they said.By overlooking challengers -- particularly Republicans -- Kittleman and Flanagan said, the chamber is missing an opportunity to balance the financial backing that labor unions and trial lawyers traditionally give Democrats.

Gov. Martin O'Malley today announced the appointment of Robert M. Summers as the state's Secretary of the Environment — a move praised by both the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. Summers, who has worked at the department since its creation in 1987, has been acting secretary since December; before that, he was deputy secretary for about three years. "With his highly-regarded expertise, straightforward approach to finding workable solutions, and passion for clean water, clean air and a healthy environment, we are confident that his continued leadership will serve the people of our State well as we work to protect our environmental priorities.

THE FOUR members of a special state Chamber of Commerce panel who strongly endorsed casino gambling for Maryland were way off base. Their report defies the facts and reaches conclusions that cannot be supported. Their flawed recommendations are a triumph of lobbying power over the welfare of the chamber and the state.From J. Henry Butta's explanation of the virtues of casinos, you would never guess anything bad was associated with this form of gambling. Mr. Butta was so focused on the thousands of jobs for Baltimore and Western Maryland (and the D.C. suburbs)

The last time Maryland was attempting to emerge from a brutal recession, Maryland Business for Responsive Government offered a partisan and pointed prescription. Maryland's "big and expensive" government was "antithetical" to business job growth, MBRG President Robert O.C. "Rocky" Worcester wrote in a letter to The Sun. So was the state's "highly litigious" legal scene. "Aggressive measures" were needed to cut taxes and stop "the unchecked expansion of state government," Worcester wrote.

OCEAN CITY -- Appearing alone because Gov. Parris N. Glendening declined an invitation to debate, challenger Ellen R. Sauerbrey told the Maryland Chamber of Commerce last night that Maryland needs to change its "basic culture" or risk losing ground to neighboring states."

SAYING THE business community has suffered disastrous consequences when it played politics, the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce has broken with the state chamber over its decision to target "anti-business" lawmakers for defeat. The Maryland chamber announced last month that it would heed Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s call to "get dangerous" and use its political clout to elect more business-friendly legislators. The plan is to use the chamber's political action committee to support lawmakers who vote pro-business 80 percent of the time and to work against those who vote against business interests at least half of the time.

WHO SAYS there's no cooperation between business and government in Maryland?In the latest indication of hand-in-hand collaboration, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce is offering to put state legislators on the information superhighway -- for free.Well, at least the schedule of their fund-raisers.Champe C. McCulloch, the chamber president, sent a letter 10 days ago to the 188 members of the Maryland General Assembly, offering the "courtesy" of putting a list of fund-raising events on the organization's computer home page, in addition to sending the list by mail to members.

A calendar item published in yesterday's Business section under the heading "This Week" was incorrect. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce's second annual economic outlook program has taken place.+ The Sun regrets the errors.

Stabilizing Maryland's unemployment system is crucial to the state's economy and business community. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce appreciates the O'Malley administration's focus on this important issue. While the administration's proposal has some merit, the Maryland Chamber disagrees with The Sun's recent editorial ("Expanding benefits is worth the price," Dec. 21). Deferring more than $80 million in unemployment insurance tax increases and expanding benefits to access $126.8 million from the federal government sounds appealing.

IT WAS A SAD day last week when the Maryland Chamber of Commerce stepped into the water at Ocean City and started sinking.Barry Rascovar is deputy editorial-page editor of The Sun.

A well-connected group of doctors wants Annapolis to let orthopedists and other specialists refer patients to their own MRI machines and other expensive equipment. This kind of arrangement drives up health costs by giving doctors the incentive to profit from unnecessary scans, numerous studies show. Fortunately, powerful Maryland groups harmed by the ruinous spiral of medical inflation have every reason to fight back. There's CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the state's biggest health insurer.

The Maryland General Assembly passed a measure Tuesday that changes unemployment benefits in a way that enables the state to tap into nearly $127 million in federal stimulus money. The money will arrive as soon as Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat who pushed for the reforms, signs the bill into law. It is emergency legislation, so that could happen quickly. With the state facing a 7.5 percent unemployment rate - a quarter-century high even though it is lower than the national unemployment rate of 9.7 percent - employers are paying huge fees to cover benefits for out-of-work Marylanders.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed changes to unemployment benefits have at last won the support of key business groups. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce's legislative policy committee voted Monday to back the Democratic governor's plan after changes were made to address concerns about long-term costs to employers. Until Monday, the Maryland Chamber and other business groups had opposed the legislation. With additional support now secured, the Senate Finance Committee will likely vote on the proposal today.

Unemployment insurance plan would hurt businesses Stabilizing Maryland's unemployment system is crucial to the state's economy and business community. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce appreciates the O'Malley administration's focus on this important issue. While the administration's proposal has some merit, the Maryland Chamber disagrees with The Sun's recent editorial ("Expanding benefits is worth the price," Dec. 21). Deferring more than $80 million in unemployment insurance tax increases and expanding benefits to access $126.

Stabilizing Maryland's unemployment system is crucial to the state's economy and business community. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce appreciates the O'Malley administration's focus on this important issue. While the administration's proposal has some merit, the Maryland Chamber disagrees with The Sun's recent editorial ("Expanding benefits is worth the price," Dec. 21). Deferring more than $80 million in unemployment insurance tax increases and expanding benefits to access $126.8 million from the federal government sounds appealing.

Just because medical malpractice insurance rates have stabilized - and even gone down a bit for many doctors - doesn't mean it's time for Maryland to roll back hard-fought caps on noneconomic damages. But that's exactly what a group of lawmakers is attempting to do. After all, it was just five years ago that rising malpractice costs were thought to be a crisis for the state, forcing doctors out of business and limiting access to quality medical care, especially in rural areas. Late in 2004, the General Assembly approved a package of reforms that included limiting how much plaintiffs and their lawyers could receive for what is often referred to as pain and suffering.

The Maryland Chamber of Commerce yesterday joined the coalition of interests that will fight for passage of a November referendum to legalize slot machine gambling in the state. Chamber officials announced yesterday that they would join with the Maryland Association of Counties, the Maryland State Teachers Association, several labor unions and the racing industry as part of the For Maryland, For Our Future ballot committee, which is pushing the referendum. "As Maryland's leading statewide business advocacy organization, the Maryland Chamber supports passage of the slots referendum as a reasonable alternative to tax increases," Maryland Chamber Chairman Betty Buck, president of Buck Distributing Co. Inc., said in a written statement.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed changes to unemployment benefits have at last won the support of key business groups. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce's legislative policy committee voted Monday to back the Democratic governor's plan after changes were made to address concerns about long-term costs to employers. Until Monday, the Maryland Chamber and other business groups had opposed the legislation. With additional support now secured, the Senate Finance Committee will likely vote on the proposal today.

Regulating energy won't help consumers The Maryland Chamber of Commerce would like to add a perspective missing from state Sens. E.J. Pipkin and Jim Rosapepe's column "Let's get a better deal" (Commentary, Sept. 23). We are in extraordinary and uncertain economic times, with great instability in global energy and financial markets. The merger offer from MidAmerican Energy Holdings represents value, low risk and a high degree of certainty for Constellation Energy, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. stakeholders and the state.

The Maryland Chamber of Commerce yesterday joined the coalition of interests that will fight for passage of a November referendum to legalize slot machine gambling in the state. Chamber officials announced yesterday that they would join with the Maryland Association of Counties, the Maryland State Teachers Association, several labor unions and the racing industry as part of the For Maryland, For Our Future ballot committee, which is pushing the referendum. "As Maryland's leading statewide business advocacy organization, the Maryland Chamber supports passage of the slots referendum as a reasonable alternative to tax increases," Maryland Chamber Chairman Betty Buck, president of Buck Distributing Co. Inc., said in a written statement.