Maryland Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Ron Wineholt met with officials of Maryland Correctional Enterprises (MCE) last week at the Jessup prison complex to discuss legislation that would allow inmate training programs to offer services in the marketplace that compete against private businesses. SB 145 of the 2008 session was defeated due to Chamber concerns about state-sponsored inmate services unfairly competing against for-profit businesses in areas such as printing, laundry, moving, call centers and business services. We blogged about this back in March.

Legislative leaders are sympathetic to the proposal and have directed the Chamber and MCE to work out a compromise on the legislation. While we support an increase in inmate training opportunities, the Maryland Chamber is asking for adequate notice to affected business sectors. If your company has an interest in this issue or has recently employed former inmates, please contact Ron Wineholt at rwineholt@mdchamber.org.