Senator Kagan urges tax credit to help recruit and retain 911 specialists

Senator Cheryl Kagan testified before the Ways and Means Committee in support of Senate Bill 148, urging a retirement-related tax change to help Maryland's under-staffed 911 public-safety answering points.

Kagan described the physical and mental toll on 911 specialists and said the bill would give them "the same kind of opportunity to have a tax credit that our other first responders are already eligible for." She urged the committee to support a modest retirement subtraction modification for specialists who retire after age 55 and live in the state.

Kagan said the Senate had passed the bill unanimously in prior sessions and that the proposal stemmed from a 911 specialist work group; she noted county-level pay data and low recent retirement numbers in some jurisdictions to argue the program would be narrowly targeted and relatively inexpensive.

Members asked how pay and staffing correlate; Kagan said she and the work group used data from the Maryland Association of Counties and would follow up with staffing-level information for specific counties when available. The committee recorded no vote on SB 148 during the hearing.

Testimony: Cheryl Kagan (Senator, sponsor).