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Bill would widen eligibility and loan caps for Maryland Oyster Shucking House Loan Program
Summary
Delegate Jones said House Bill 397 would increase loan caps tied to seasonal employees and reduce required years of licensing so smaller or newer seafood processors can access MorbiDco funds to modernize processing and return oyster shells to restoration projects.
Delegate Jones introduced House Bill 397, which proposes two changes to the Maryland Oyster Shucking House Loan Program established by prior legislation and administered by Marbibco: (1) increase the allowable loan amount to up to $25,000 per full-time or seasonal full-time job (up from $10,000 per seasonal position currently); and (2) lower the required period that an applicant must have held a licensed seafood dealer status from five years to three.
Nut graf: The program was created to help small processors and historic shucking houses finance improvements and to incentivize returning oyster shell to the Bay as restoration material. DNR staff and the program administrator told the committee the changes would make two prospective applicants eligible immediately and would make the program more usable by smaller, seasonal operations.
Steve McHenry, representing Marbibco, said the updates were intended to match the seasonal nature of many processing operations and to allow the fund to be used as originally intended. Proponents said the higher per-job cap and reduced licensing threshold would expand the pool of applicants and help the industry modernize and increase shell return for restoration.
Ending: The committee received supportive testimony from administration and the seafood industry; no formal vote was taken at the hearing.
