A bill in the Maryland General Assembly would address price-gouging among health care staffing agencies increasing their rates amid a national worker shortage.

Senate Bill 565 would prevent companies from hiking prices on "essential goods or services" more than 10% during and for three months after a public health emergency.

Sen. Pamela Beidle, D-Anne Arundel, the bill's co-sponsor, said she has heard from hospitals and nursing homes travel-nurse agencies have boosted rates as high as $200 an hour, with much of the money not paid to the nurses themselves.

"You can't blame the nurses for applying for jobs with higher wages; it's really about the agencies themselves," Beidle asserted. "In this case, it's a public health emergency, and we can't put our hospitals in that position. There needs to be a limit to how much a staffing agency can make based on this demand issue."

The bill had its first reading in the Senate Finance Committee last week. It's co-sponsored by Sen. Clarence Lam, D-Baltimore. A companion bill, filed in the House by Del. Pamela Queen, D-Rockville, has a hearing in the Economic Matters Committee on Feb. 16. People working on contract as traveling nurses have voiced concerns about limiting their pay, pointing to the risks they take in health care fields.

Hospitals in the state are dealing with 3,900 nurse vacancies, up 50% from the summer, according to the Maryland Hospital Association. Beidle said the labor shortage is a concern for many sectors, including home health care.

"What do you do if you have an elderly or disabled loved one at home, and you can't get help to be with them?" Beidle questioned. "It's a real crisis, so we're trying to do more than just the price-gouging bill, to really try to assist with increasing the number of people that want to be in these occupations."

Beidle has also introduced Senate Bill 696, to provide financial assistance for nurses in Maryland for student-loan repayment. The bill had a first reading in the Senate last week.

Alabama Arise, a statewide advocacy group, is fighting for marginalized communities affected by poverty.

The organization recently unveiled its 2024 policy priorities, highlighting the importance of expanding Medicaid and ending the state sales tax on groceries to improve residents' overall well-being.

Robyn Hyden, executive director of the group, believes addressing the issues will create lasting effects on communities and improve communication with legislators.

"Some people feel a sense of powerlessness, a feeling that our political systems are not set up to listen to us or respond to our needs, the needs of everyday folks," Hyden explained. "We really work hard to refute that by showing that regular everyday citizens do have power in raising their voices together. "

She noted Arise's policy goals also include increasing human service budgets, securing education funds, preserving voting rights through no-excuse early voting and easier rights restoration. The organization also aims to tackle policies aimed at improving criminal justice outcomes, maternal and infant care and public transportation funding, and requiring unanimous jury decisions in death-penalty cases.

Hyden pointed out change does not happen quickly and takes everyone working together. She emphasized some ways they plan to work to bring the policies to life are through policy analysis, producing advocacy materials such as fact sheets and reports to spread information, and empowering regular citizens to engage with local lawmakers in their districts.

"We always want to go into the legislative session having fully educated lawmakers about how important it is to address poverty in their district and how we think they could do that," Hyden stressed. "We never want to hear a lawmaker stand up and say, 'Hey, nobody in my district has talked to me about this.'"

Alabama Arise achieved partial success this year when the state sales tax on groceries was unanimously reduced by half. However, she admitted more can be done and said they will continue to fight for the complete removal of this tax burden on low-income families. She added they will be challenging state income tax deductions currently benefiting the wealthiest households.

A group of veterans is touting the national security benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The organization Elected Officials to Protect America said the law, passed by Congress in 2022, will decrease the country's dependence on foreign sources of energy with a $370 billion investment in clean energy.

Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty, an Army veteran, said in the wake of the region's devastating wildfires and the heat dome, she helped push for protections for renters in Oregon.

"While I'm very proud of that legislation, I'm very proud that the governor signed it and I was very proud to build the coalition to do it, imagine what a tenacious mayor could have done if I wasn't focusing on climate-related emergencies," Beaty pointed out. "We could have been building more pipes in schools and infrastructure and bridges."

Beaty stressed the recent disasters in the state have underscored the importance of taking action on climate change.

Alex Cornell du Houx, president and co-founder of Elected Officials to Protect America, a former marine and Maine state representative, pointed to the conflict in Ukraine as evidence of the importance of energy independence.

"With the Inflation Reduction Act, it is part of the solution to decouple ourselves from this dependency on the source of energy in which autocratic nations primarily control," du Houx explained. "That's the exciting thing about it. It's an amazing solution that's really tangible and a historic investment."

Beaty contends mayors like her will ensure funds from the Inflation Reduction Act go to the places doing the most good to fight climate change.

"We can be trusted by the president to deliver on the ground," Beaty emphasized. "That's why we see so many mayors excited about the Inflation Reduction Act, because we know how to put money to work right away."


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This week's move by federal lawmakers to advance another temporary government budget also means the Farm Bill, which recently expired, is extended.

Farmer advocates are calming their panic, but said the agricultural sector needs focus and more support. The Farm Bill sets spending levels for agricultural and food assistance programs every five years. The 2018 version expired earlier this fall, and lawmakers are now finalizing a yearlong extension.

Mike Lavender, policy director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, said they should not wait the full year to adopt the new bill, noting the 2018 version came with limitations.

"The 2018 Farm Bill, for example, decreased investment in some of the conservation practices and conservation programs that we know are key to building resilience but also incredibly popular among farmers," Lavender pointed out.

To deal with rising threats from climate change, his group said Congress should include new investments in the new version by early 2024. Last year's Inflation Reduction Act bolstered farm conservation funding but Republicans have been trying to strip those provisions.

The North Dakota Farmers Union is echoing the call for urgency. The union said in addition to farmer-friendly conservation provisions, it wants a stronger agriculture safety nets and improvements to disaster programs.

Meanwhile, Lavender wants more priority given to strengthening regional offices helping farmers and ranchers sign up for sustainability incentives and other aid.

"Are we making sure that USDA programs and farm bill programs are accessible to all farmers and that we have a level playing field?" Lavender asked. "Because we don't have that right now."

Lavender worries about historically disadvantaged farmers, and younger producers who do not come from a farming family, being able to access support like crop insurance. He acknowledged the need for more staffing and enhanced training at resource centers.


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