March Madness as legislative crossover deadline passes | Maryland Association of CPAs (MACPA)

03/26/2018 • by Tom Hood

March Madness as legislative crossover deadline passes

With the NCAA basketball tournament narrowed to the Final Four, our own version of March Madness is playing out in Annapolis.

More than 3,000 bills hit the cross-over deadline of March 19. That is the date when bills from each legislative body (the House and Senate) must have been voted favorably out of committee and out of their respective legislative body to be crossed over to the other body for hearings and votes. That means the remaining bills are the only ones that can ultimately progress to become enacted by Sine Die on April 9.

This year we’ve seen new records for bills introduced and the number of bills we had to monitor and testify on. “Lawmakers introduced 3,118 pieces of legislation this year — 1,279 bills and resolutions in the Senate and 1,839 in the House of Delegates,” Danielle Gaines wrote for The Frederick News-Post. “That’s more in one year than in any other session dating back to 1987.” MACPA volunteers testified in person or in writing — sometimes repeatedly — to no fewer than 24 of of those bills.

Here are the bills that have been finalized (passed or stopped) so far:

Did not pass: Governor’s tax bill, SB 733/HB 875, “Protecting Maryland Taxpayers Act of 2018”
Did not pass: Extension of deadline for mandatory sick leave, “Maryland Healthy Working Family Act,” SB304
Stopped: Comparative negligence, SB465, “Motor Vehicle Accidents Involving Pedestrians or Nonmotorized Vehicles – Comparative Negligence”
Restored: HSA / HDHP deductibility, SB 137/HB135, “Health Insurance – Coverage for Male Sterilization – High-Deductible Health Plans “
Stopped: Maryland overtime law, HB 974, “Labor and Employment – Exemptions From Overtime Pay – Administrative, Executive, or Professional Capacity”
Stopped: Several bills requiring CPAs to certify taxpayer income (sewer, health care)
No sales taxes on services introduced.
No non-disclosure agreement / non-compete legislation introduced.

Here are the bills still in play through the end of session:

Wage history for employment: HB 512/SB 377, “Labor and Employment Wage History Information.” The MACPA testified against this bill. It has passed the House.
We amended this to exempt CPAs: Proof of professional license, SB 971/HB 1241, “Corporations and Associations – Recordation and Filing – Proof of Occupational or Professional License”
Several tax bills to minimize impacts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act or 2018 – standard deduction and Maryland itemized deductions
Combined reporting, SB195/HB566: We oppose due to compliance complexity.
Small business relief tax credit (SB 135/HB 99) for small businesses implementing mandatory sick leave.

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