ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Comptroller Brooke Lierman laid out her legislative agenda Monday.
Lierman is focused on a trio of bills.
"Marylanders want fairness, responsiveness, efficiency and transparency," said Lierman on what she heard from Marylanders on the campaign trail.
The bill with the biggest impact overhauls the accounting and payment system for the agency.
The Comptroller says the current system is outdated.
Amanda Rodriguez with the nonprofit turnaround, which also helps female victims of domestic violence, says this system can make getting payments from the state a nightmare.
Especially groups like hers who rely on the funding.
"As early as December of this last year, we were owed nearly half-a-million dollars by the state and local funders due to delayed payments," said Rodriguez.
Currently this bill doesn't have a financial outlook, though Lierman says the system overhaul would cost millions and take years.
Another bill provides a payment to those wrongfully taxed on unemployment checks.
The Relief Act shielded unemployment from taxes in 2020 and 2021.
Some people had their payments for those years delayed by the Department of Labor until 2022.
"This will increase fairness in the system. Beyond fairness it's also much needed help for a population of Marylanders who experienced extreme economic hardship," said Lierman.
The Comptroller says this impacts more than 80,000 Marylanders.
"Massive administrative failures driven by years of staff and budget cuts left some workers waiting months for the benefits they were owed and desperately needed," said Benjamin Orr with the Maryland Center on Economic Policy.
For her final bill she'd like to create an office of the taxpayer advocate within the Comptroller's office.
This person would have a team of six dedicated to resolving issues for taxpayers.
The first bill is set to be heard tomorrow at 1:00.
