The Week Ahead

Last week MBTPI's analysis was highlighted in a story about gambling's future in Maryland, and Neil Bergsman talked with MarylandReporter.com about the need to pay state employees market-rate salaries. Neil also had an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun, highlighting the reasons why Maryland is a great place to do business.

Neil's op-ed was a summary of his blog post on the same topic. We also blogged about a pilot program to reduce childhood hunger, and the latest state-level employment figures.

For the week of May 20th to May 26th:

• On Monday, May 20th, the General Provisions Article Review Committee will meet to review drafts of Title 5 "Public Ethics" at 3pm in the House Office Building, Annapolis.
• On Wednesday, May 22nd, the Board of Directors of the Maryland Health Insurance Plan meets at 9am in suite 630, 1 Calvert Plaza, 201 E. Baltimore Street, Baltimore.
• Also on Wednesday the Workgroup on Access to Habilitative Services Benefits, from 9:30-11:30am, at the Maryland Insurance Administration, St. Paul Plaza, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore. 
• On Thursday, May 23rd, the Maryland Advisory Commission on Manufacturing Competitiveness meets from 10am to noon at Catonsville Community College, Time Center, 800 South Rolling Road, Catonsville.
• Later on Thursday, the Maryland Medicaid Advisory Committee meets from 1-3pm at 201 W. Preston Street, Baltimore.

The Week Ahead

Yesterday was Veterans Day, when we honor those who served in our nation's military. This weekend was also the start of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. In a country where 67,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, this week serves as a poignant reminder that the best way to honor our veterans is to take better care of them than we currently do. Baltimore City alone has roughly 350 homeless veterans.

MBTPI was in the news several times in the lead-up to last week's election. We also blogged our reflections about the election and its potential effect on Maryland's budget.

Tuesday, November 13th

• Spending Affordability Committee meets for its second briefing from the Department of Legislative Services (DLS). This time DLS will present on transportation, capital, and state debt. 4pm in room 120, House Office Building, Annapolis.
• Joint Committee on Workers' Compensation Benefit and Insurance Oversight discusses the annual report by the Worker's Compensation Commission and other worker's compensation issues, including cancer presumption. 11am in room 231, House Office Building, Annapolis.
• Joint Subcommittee on Program Open Space and Agricultural Land Preservation receives an update on land conservation policies, funding and programs. 2pm in room 3 East, Senate Office Building, Annapolis.
• Advisory Council for Alternative Response holds its monthly meeting. 1pm in room 1044, Department of Human Resources, 311 West Saratoga Street, Baltimore. 
• U.S. Treasury Department releases federal budget numbers for October, including the national deficit.  
• Center for Community Service and Justice at Loyola University Maryland hosts a screening of The Line, a film about Americans living at or below the poverty line. 7pm in Cohn 133 (room below the chapel), 4501 North Charles Street, Baltimore.
• Maryland Nonprofits offers a Maximize Your Member Benefits webinar. For more information or to register go to their events page.

Wednesday, November 14th

• Special Joint Committee on Pensions meets for an update on the system actuarial valuation report, system funding study, and investment overview. 2pm in room 120, House Office Building, Annapolis.
• Task Force on the Establishment of a Statewide Spay/Neuter Fund discusses presentations on the implications of a rabies surcharge and a survey of public attitudes toward establishing a statewide spay/neuter program. 1pm in room 250, House Office Building, Annapolis.
• Board of Public Works meets. 10am in the Governor's Reception Room on the second floor of the State House, Annapolis..
• Maryland Campaign for Paid Sick Days kicks off with an event featuring worker's rights activist Ellen Bravo and Delegate John Olszewski, Jr. Everyone gets sick and everyone deserves time to get better without risking their economic stability, yet 800,000 Marylanders are forced to make impossible choices: Go to work sick, send an ill child to school, or stay home and sacrifice much-needed income, possibly risking job loss. Learn how paid sick leave benefits business, improves public health, and protects families. Lunch is provided at this free event, but registration is required. 11:30am to 1pm at Westminster Hall, 519 W. Fayette Street, Baltimore.
• Census Bureau posts data on retail sales in October.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases the October Producer Price Index.
• Maryland Nonprofits offers a financial management training on Project-Based Financials. For more information or to register go to their events page.
• Maryland Nonprofits presents the next offering in their ongoing Policy Webinar Series: Developing an Advocacy Policy. For more information or to register go to their events page.

Thursday, November 15th

• Maryland Health Care Commission meets. 1pm in conference room 100, Maryland Health Care Commission, 4160 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore.
• BLS releases the October Consumer Price Index, the primary inflation indicator.
• BLS also releases initial unemployment claims data for the previous week. Analysts expect an uptick due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy. 
• Maryland Nonprofits offers a webinar on Compiling Board Member Bios. For more information or to register go to their events page.

Friday, November 16th

• Maryland Advisory Commission on Manufacturing Competitiveness holds a board meeting. 2pm in the 17th floor conference room at the World Trade Center, 401 East Pratt Street,  Baltimore.

The Week Ahead

Last week we blogged about the new revenue estimates for Maryland, the annual briefing of the Joint Committee on Welfare Reform, new data from the Census Bureau, and the August state-level employment figures. Also last week, Governing Magazine highlighted our brief on expanded gambling.

Monday, September 24th

• Exchange Financing and Sustainability Advisory Committees of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Board meet. 2-4pm at the Maryland Health Care Commission, 4160 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore.
• Board of Directors of the Maryland Health Insurance Plan meet about messaging and a memorandum of understanding between MHIP and the Exchange. 3pm in suite 630, 1 Calvert Plaza, 201 E. Baltimore Street, Baltimore.

Tuesday, September 25th

• Transportation and the Environment Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee does a site visit to Thurgood Marshall International Airport, from 11am to 2pm.
• Public Health and Long Term Care Subcommittee of the House Health and Government Operations Committee meets to discuss HB 1090. 1pm in room 241, House Office Building, Annapolis.
• Maryland Life Sciences Advisory Board meets. 9am to 1pm, University of Maryland BioPark, 801 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore.

Wednesday, September 26th

• Maryland Nonprofits offers Forming a Nonprofit: The Paperwork. This is a training program; for more information check out Maryland Nonprofits' events page. 

Thursday, September 27th

• Video Lottery Facility Location Commission meets to receive an update on legal proceedings and to consider an extension request from CBAC Gaming and the City of Baltimore. This meeting will be held via teleconference. Interested parties may attend the meeting from Room 111 of the Legislative Services Building. A portion of the meeting may be held in closed session. 11am in room 111, Legislative Services Building, 90 State Circle, Annapolis.
• Commission to Study Campaign Finance Law meets. 1pm in room 130, House Office Building, Annapolis.
• Maryland Health Care Reform Coordinating Council meets. 3-5pm in the Joint Hearing Room, Department of Legislative Services, 90 State Circle, Annapolis.
• Governor's Commission on Small Business holds a town hall meeting. 10am to 1pm in the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center, 44219 Airport Road, California, MD. 
• Bureau of Labor Statistics releases county-level employment data.
• Maryland Nonprofits offers Build Capacity with Dynamic Volunteer Engagement. This is a training program; for more information check out Maryland Nonprofits' events page. 

Friday, September 28th

• Maryland Advisory Committee on Manufacturing Competitiveness holds a board meeting. 10am to noon in the 17th floor conference room, World Trade Center, 401 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore.

The Week Ahead

Quite a few meetings related to health care and health care reform this week.

Monday, July 16th

• Commission to Study Campaign Finance Law meets. 10am in room 130, House Office Building, Annapolis.
• Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Board, Exchange Financing and Sustainability Advisory Committee meets. 2-3:30pm in the Tech Center UMBC Main Seminar Room, 1450 Rolling Road, Baltimore.

Tuesday, July 17th

• Work-group on Lead Liability Protection for Rental Property meets. 10am on the 24th Floor Hearing Room, Maryland Insurance Administration, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore.
• Maryland Advisory Committee on Manufacturing Competitiveness holds a board meeting. 10am to noon at Marquip-Ward United, 10615 Beaver Dam Road, Cockeysville.
• Maryland Health Care Reform Coordinating Council meets. 1-3pm in the Joint Hearing Room at the Department of Legislative Services, Annapolis.
• Joint Committee on Health Benefit Exchange Financing of the Maryland Health Care Reform Coordinating Council holds its first meeting. 3-4pm in the Joint Hearing Room at the Department of Legislative Services, Annapolis.
• Maryland Nonprofits is holding a training on financial leadership.

Wednesday, July 18th

• Joint Committee on Children, Youth and Families meets for an update on the Race to the Top Early LEarning Challenge Grant and a presentation on after school programs. 10am in room 130, House Office Building, Annapolis.
• Joint Committee on Transparency and Open Government meets for a design update on the General Assembly website. Public testimony will be accepted. 1pm in room 130, House Office Building, Annapolis.
• Essential Health Care Benefits Advisory Committee of the Maryland Health Care Reform Coordinating Council meets. 9am to noon in the Tech Center UMBC Main Seminar Room, 1450 Rolling Road, Baltimore.
• Maryland Nonprofits is holding a webinar on developing a conflict of interest policy.

Thursday, July 19th

• Maryland Health Care Commission meets. 1pm in room 100, Maryland Health Care Commission, 4160 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore.
• Inter-agency Committee on School Construction meets to discuss fiscal year 2013 energy efficiency improvement procedures. 10-10:30 in the 2nd floor conference room, 200 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore.

Friday, July 20th

• Maryland Health Care Reform Coordinating Council meets. 2-4pm in the Main Conference Room, Maryland Health Care Commission, 4160 Patterson Avenue Baltimore.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics releases state employment figures for June 2012.  In May Maryland's unemployment rate rose for the third straight month, to 6.8 percent.

MD unemployment rate edged up, but so did manufacturing employment

Maryland's unemployment rate edged up one tenth of one percentage point in April, to 6.7 percent.  This is still down from a year ago, when the unemployment rate was 7.1 percent.  There were 1,400 more Marylanders in the labor force last month compared to the month before, but 2,500 fewer employed residents. Because the growth in the ranks of the unemployed was larger than the growth in the labor force, the bump up in the unemployment rate was likely the result of actual jobs lost rather than merely a larger pool of workers.

In the accompanying survey of establishments, Maryland businesses employed 6,000 fewer individuals in April (the total differs from the unemployment rate figures above because - due to differences in methodology between the two surveys - some of these individuals may work in MD but live out of state, or work more than one job).  The largest decline was in the leisure and hospitality sector (-3,900), followed by the professional and business services sector (-2,200).  The government sector also lost 100 jobs.

More positively, the manufacturing sector added 1,200 jobs in April.  Education and health services - a perennial employment generator for the state - also added 700 employees last month.  Overall, Maryland's employers have added 40,600 new jobs since April of 2011.