Gov. Martin O?Malley set his sights on strengthening and growing the middle class, and Tuesday he signed a series of bills that he hopes does just that.
O?Malley signed into law legislation raising unemployment checks, freezing college tuition, stopping the worse practices of ground-rent landlords and making state contractors pay all employees a “living wage.”
“This is a good day for people struggling to make ends meet,” said Labor Secretary Tom Perez, whose department will enforce some of the new laws.
Under the living-wage provision, profit-making service contractors for the state will have to pay employees in urban areas at least $11.30 per hour, and in rural areas, $8.50 per hour. Supporters say Maryland is the first state to mandate a living wage, although it already is required in more than 100 smaller jurisdictions, including Baltimore City, Prince George?s and Montgomery counties.
Perez said it is not clear how many people the new law will affect.
“We don?t have precision on what that number can be,” he said. “My guess is that it will wind up affecting tens of thousands of people.”
Under another measure, the maximum state unemployment check will go up from $340 to $380 a week. Labor unions backed a larger increase, but business groups eventually supported this bill since the state can afford to pay for the increase without raising unemployment taxes on employers. The unemployment trust fund has a $1 billion balance, Perez said.
O?Malley also signed nine bills dealing with problems related to ground rents, a payment on residential land that affects more than 100,000 homeowners in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County.
The most important, said Del. Sandy Rosenberg, D-Baltimore City, is legislation that will prohibit a ground landlord from throwing out a home buyer for failing to pay the ground rent. As of July 1, the landlord can only put a lien on the property, not eject the resident.
