Yes! That cheer was likely heard in business offices across Maryland after word spread that a judge dismissed a state law, known as the Wal-Mart bill, that required companies to spend a percentage of their payroll on health care benefits.

“The cheering is being done because of the perception that state legislators have been chastened and are less likely now to take a hard-line stance against businesses,” said Anirban Basu, CEO of Sage Policy Group Inc., a Baltimore-based economic and policy consulting firm.