Favorable with Amendment
Committee: Budget and Taxation
SB0882
The Maryland Catholic Conference offers this testimony in support of Senate Bill 882, with amendment. The Catholic Conference is the public policy representative of the three (arch)dioceses serving Maryland, which together encompass over one million Marylanders. Statewide, their parishes, schools, hospitals and numerous charities combine to form our state’s second largest social service provider network, behind only our state government.
We also offer this testimony on behalf of the families of approximately 50,000 students served by over 150 PreK-12 Catholic schools in Maryland, as well as the one in every eight Maryland students educated in a nonpublic school, particularly those whose schools participate in the Federal School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Program.
Senate Bill 882 would provide a state tax credit against the State income tax for certain individuals who are employed full-time in a public primary or secondary school in the State and have outstanding student loan debt.
Student loan debt can be economically crippling, particularly to younger adults who are in prime expense years. Student loan debt often impedes or altogether hinders the ability to afford homes, provide adequate child care, procure reliable transportation and much more. Teachers are often underpaid altogether, particularly when considered with the level of graduate and post-graduate education their licensure requires and the imperative service they provide to the future of our state. Tax credits like that which Senate Bill 882 encourages would help to develop our state’s teacher pipeline, a workforce that is in greater demand and has fallen short of our need.
The majority of nonpublic school teachers work for between 50% – 80% of their public school counterparts, particularly in our nonpublic schools that serve low-income students and often operate on very tight budgets. Therefore, the attached amendment to include nonpublic school teachers is well-warranted. It would appear particularly discriminatory to nonpublic school teachers, who provide the same important and noble service to Maryland as their public school counterparts, to not include them in this tax credit. It is for these reasons that the Maryland Catholic Conference asks for a favorable report for Senate Bill 882, with amendment.
AMENDMENTS TO SENATE BILL 882:
Amendment No. 1
On Page 2, Line 10, after “PUBLIC”, insert “OR NONPUBLIC”.
Amendment No. 2
On Page 4, Line 10, after “PUBLIC”, insert “OR NONPUBLIC”.