WHEREAS, the State of Maryland is considering the implementation of a $0.75 surcharge on retail deliveries to fund transportation projects, including the improvement of roads, bridges, and other infrastructure, as well as proposed upgrades and enhancements to mass transit; and
WHEREAS, this surcharge would apply to deliveries of essential goods, including groceries, clothing, prescriptions, and other necessities; and
WHEREAS, blind individuals and others with disabilities disproportionately rely on delivery services to access these essential goods, in part due to challenges related to transportation and mobility; and
WHEREAS, far too many blind Marylanders are unemployed or underemployed, again in part due to transportation challenges, and thus their incomes are limited; and
WHEREAS, the burden of supporting transportation infrastructure projects should not be disproportionately borne by those who can least afford it and who benefit least from transportation projects other than mass transit: now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland in Convention assembled this sixteenth day of February, 2025, in Ocean City, Maryland, that this organization demand that Maryland Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland General Assembly abandon the proposed $0.75 surcharge on retail deliveries; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge the Governor and state lawmakers to consider options to fund transportation that will not disproportionately affect blind individuals and others with disabilities.