Maryland governor proposes up to $750 stimulus payments to some residents

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is proposing up to $750 in stimulus payments to help residents deal with the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Hogan unveiled his plan, which would provide up to $750 for families and $450 for individuals that qualified for the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit, on Monday. More than 400,000 Maryland residents would qualify for relief under the plan. 

Payments would be given to single people making no more than $15,820 per year, while eligibility for a family with at least three children would be capped at $56,844 per year.

Families would receive a total of $750 —which would be broken up as $500 in immediate relief and a second round providing an additional $250.

Single people would receive $300 in immediate payments and a second round out $150 for a total of $450.

Hogan’s proposed stimulus payments are part of a $1 billion emergency stimulus and tax relief package aimed at helping individuals, families and businesses deal with economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. He said in a statement that the proposal, called the RELIEF Act of 2021, will be introduced when the Maryland legislature goes begins session on Wednesday.  

“We will be introducing the RELIEF Act of 2021 as emergency legislation on day one. We will ask both houses of the legislature to act on it immediately, so that I can immediately sign it into law, and these relief measures can take effect—all so that we can immediately get these much-needed dollars out the door and into the pockets of those who desperately need it,” Hogan said.  

The proposal comes federal stimulus checks are being rolled out under a $900 billion relief deal passed by Congress late last year. Individuals making $75,000 or less or couples no more than $150,000 per year will receive $600 payments.  

Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) unveiled his proposal last week to provide an extra $600 on top of the $600 they are already receiving under the federal government — ultimately netting them $1,200.