In recent years, the General Assembly passed legislation to limit college tuition increases.  Over the past eight years, Maryland has gone from the 7th most expensive state, down to the 26th least expensive.  This is a notable improvement, but there are still far too many middle-class and working families unable to afford tuition.

 

To increase access to higher education, we are introducing the Education Affordability Act of 2016.  This establishes a program – in some ways similar to a 401(k) – where the State will match the investments put into college savings.  With an impact to 20,000 Maryland families, and assistance to graduates with over $20,000 in student debt, this is the type of bill that strengthens our State and should receive bipartisan support. 

Refusing to Accept Inequality  

Today, women make an average of 78 cents for every dollar men make.  This is obviously unacceptable, and the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act will address it.  One of the greatest obstacles to fixing pay differences is the fear of punishment facing employees who discuss their salaries with one another.  This bill will put an end to that fear by ensuring that employees cannot be penalized for talking about how much they earn.  When these conversations can happen openly, it becomes harder for discriminatory workplace practices to continue.

Despite hard work and saving, an estimated one million Marylanders are still inadequately prepared for retirement.  Our State needs a long-term, sustainable plan for dealing with this crisis.  Legislators are finalizing comprehensive legislation to address retirement security.  The bill establishes programs for incentivizing employers to provide retirement savings options and plans to their employees.