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Commissioner backs earned-wage access bill to ban tip-like fees and false advertising
Summary
Tony Salazar, Commissioner of the Office of Financial Regulation, told the Economic Matters Committee SB 294 would regulate earned-wage access products by banning tip-style fees, prohibiting false advertising and discrimination, and aligning the bill with the governor's priorities; he said the measure should have no fiscal impact.
Tony Salazar, commissioner of the Office of Financial Regulation, presented Senate Bill 294 (cross-file HB 237) as state regulation for earned-wage access (EWA) products and asked the committee for a favorable report. "The bill still protects consumers. It prohibits additional fees disguised as tips, and it prohibits false advertising, and it ensures nondiscrimination," Salazar said.
Salazar said SB 294 incorporated changes adopted by the Senate Finance Committee to restate prohibitions against discrimination and false advertising directly in the bill text and that Maryland Labor and OFR support the technical amendments. He referred to the governor's prior letter requesting a ban on tip-style fees in the EWA context as a driving policy priority.
Committee members did not pose substantive questions and the chair closed the hearing after Salazar offered to answer questions. There was no vote recorded at the end of the hearing.
