In the News
Maryland Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit
More than a quarter million student loan borrowers have paused their loan repayment plans while economic hardship forebearances have more than doubled. Interest rates have resumed, as have debt collections. If you're struggling with loan repayments, there is help available. Maryland has a Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit which provides some relief for Maryland student borrowers. To be eligible for the credit, a borrower must: Be a Maryland taxpayer. Have incurred at least $20,000 in undergraduate and/or graduate student loan debt. Owe at least $5,000 in outstanding student loan debt at the time of applying for the tax credit. ...
Maryland Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Tenants Using Housing Vouchers
Earlier this year, the Maryland Attorney General asked the Maryland Supreme Court to protect housing voucher recipients from income-based discrimination, via an amicus brief filed in March. In July of this year, the Maryland Supreme Court issued a judgement in favor of the tenant. The case began when a tenant named Katrina Hare tried to obtain housing in a Baltimore County apartment complex owned by David S. Brown Enterprises. The company implemented an income requirement, and did not use the accepted income calculations that take into account the client's voucher amount. As a result, Ms. Hare was denied housing because ...
Maryland Commission on Civil Rights Publishes Source of Income Guidance
This information is important for both landlords and tenants. The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights has published Source of Income Guidance, which outlines the rules around what landlords can and cannot do, with regard to tenants who use Housing Choice Vouchers and other sources of non-traditional income. From MCCR: The purpose of this guidance1 is to provide information on how the State of Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (“Commission”) analyzes source of income discrimination in housing as a result of the enactment of the Housing Opportunities Made Equal (“HOME”) Act of 2020. The guidance aims to inform tenants, housing providers, ...
Maryland Management Emergency Rental Assistance Conciliation Agreement
According to the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, Maryland Management, Inc. refused to participate in or cooperate with emergency rental assistance programs. If you were denied housing or evicted because of this practice, you may be eligible to receive a money settlement from a Restitution Fund negotiated by the Maryland Attorney General to resolve allegations of Source of Income Discrimination by Maryland Management Company, Inc. This agreement can be downloaded here. The amount of compensation you are eligible for will depend on your experience with Maryland Management Company, Inc., and other applications to the Restitution Fund. To receive any ...
Do You Need Medical Debt Assistance?
Far too few patients are aware they may qualify for financial assistance that would reduce or wipe-out their medical debt. Economic Action Maryland Fund is thrilled to partner with Dollar For to help patients in Maryland apply for hospital financial assistance.Dollar For has been working nationwide to crush medical debt by helping patients apply for financial assistance and advocating with hospitals to eliminate or reduce patients’ medical debt.If you or someone you know has medical debt from a hospital stay, click on this link which will take you to our page. On the page you can:See if you may qualify ...
Please Attend! Economic Justice in Action: Power and Policy in the Age of Deregulation
The fight for economic justice has never been more critical. Congress is ramming through the federal budget bill, which threatens to reshape our economy in drastic ways. The bill would further enrich billionaires by cutting services and assistance for the families that need them most, from Medicaid to SNAP to student loan relief. It also makes policy changes that erode consumer protections, guts efforts to expand small business-lending, and funds anti-immigration practices and programs. In Maryland, we’re working to understand how this assault on working people will impact our families and communities, particularly Black and Brown neighborhoods still living with ...
Assistance For Utility Bills
If you’ve opened a utility bill lately and felt a wave of frustration, you’re not alone. For many Marylanders, the rising cost of energy isn’t just a nuisance, it’s a crisis. While utility companies rake in profits, people are forced to make impossible choices between heating, cooling, and other essentials. Given the increase in utility bills and summer temperatures, we are happy to share there is some long overdue relief in sight. Starting July 1, 2025, Maryland is launching a $19 million Customer Relief Fund to help low- and middle-income residents cover skyrocketing utility bills. This one-time financial assistance will ...
Convenience Fee Questionnaire
Please answer the following three questions regarding management companies/landlords that charge convenience fees for tenants who pay rent monthly through a portal. Your responses will be anonymous -- in fact, the only personal information required is your ZIP Code. Thank you!
How SNAP Benefit Cuts Would Affect Maryland Residents
According to a recent report by the Urban Institute, federal SNAP benefits will fail to cover the cost of a modestly priced meal in every county in the US, when the proposed cuts to the 2021 Thrifty Food Plan update go into effect. Maryland is one of the states that will see the biggest gap between benefit amounts and the cost of a meal. In Maryland, rolling back the 2021 Thrifty Food Plan would mean that a modestly priced meal would cost 70% more than the maximum SNAP benefit. Below, explore which counties would have had the largest difference between ...
Help Us Support the CFPB — Tell Your Member of Congress to Vote NO on High Overdraft Fees
On February 14, we shared that Economic Action along with the City of Baltimore sued to stop Russell Vought, Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, from defunding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). That temporary restraining order was for two weeks, ending on February 28. On February 28, Democracy Forward, the nonprofit who is suing on our behalf informed us that the judge extended the order barring the federal government from transferring away all of the CFPB’s funds. This means that the CFPB still has funding for another two weeks. While this is a short-term victory, it's ...