Maryland Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Christine Ross announced the launch of the ReNEW Maryland initiative, a collection of policy proposals that will assist Maryland in overcoming the economic impact of COVID-19 and rebuilding its economy. ReNEW Maryland is the product of input provided by members of the chamber’s COVID-19 Working Group and other stakeholders from across the state.
“The health and safety of the public, including our 4,500 members and federated partners and their employees, remains our top priority,” said Ross. “We also believe that federal and state actions taken to address the challenges posed by the evolving crisis must appropriately balance public health and safety with the economic realities our members face. Our ReNEW Maryland plan features proposals that are meant to serve as a menu of options for recovery efforts that will get Marylanders back to work as soon and as safely as possible.”
ReNew Maryland features three main phases that will assist in short-term recovery (Economic Resilience), mid-term recovery (Economic Recovery) and long-term recovery (Economic Rise). These steps toward a full recovery are likely to evolve as the public health crisis and economic response evolves.
Economic Resilience will focus on recommendations that provide immediate financial relief to businesses and re-build consumer confidence to bridge the gap between the negative economic impact of COVID-19 and recovery.
The Economic Recovery phase will kick in as commerce begins to gradually reopen. These policies will focus on establishing stability and predictability for businesses, including financial recovery initiatives like debt forgiveness and protecting businesses from predatory lawsuits.
The third and final phase, Economic Rise, will examine what economic growth and expansion look like in the post-COVID economy. Once we achieve stability and return to post-COVID levels in all economic indicators, we must turn our attention to securing Maryland’s future through a stronger economy and business climate.
To read all of the ReNEW Maryland recommendations, visit https://files.constantcontact.com/95abe157401/438dd88a-a1cd-46b7-8cc9-63a66a728010.pdf or visit the chamber’s COVID-19 resource page at https://mdchamber.org/covid-19-resources.