Amendments to biotech grant bill to exempt tips and overtime fail amid fiscal and eligibility disputes

A floor amendment to SB247 would have added exemptions for taxes on tips (and in a subsequent amendment, overtime) tied to a biotechnology incentive program converted from tax credits to grants.

The amendment maker said servers and tipped workers rely on tips and that, amid affordability pressures, they deserved relief. The maker argued the bill as amended to a grant program would send taxpayer funds to companies and so the state should refrain from taxing tipped earnings.

Floor leaders and other members disputed key factual premises. One panelist (the floor leader) said that the bill’s language requires grantees to be headquartered in Maryland and argued the amendment would materially increase the bill’s fiscal cost — figures cited on the floor included an $85 million annual cost estimate for a broader subtraction modification. Other members debated whether the bill text permitted grants to out-of-state companies and whether an exemption for tips would create an unfunded mandate on the budget.

After extended explanation-of-vote remarks and roll-call requests, the amendment failed on the roll. A later amendment proposing a similar exemption for overtime was also defeated following debate. The underlying SB247 advanced to final passage with a recorded roll-call result during the concurrence calendar.

Floor debate included repeated references to committee procedure and minority-party requests for up-or-down committee votes; members on both sides expressed frustration about the late-session timing for substantive changes.

The clerk recorded final tallies on both the amendment roll calls and the bill’s passage as part of the legislative record.