University of Maryland SGA leaders prompted state Sen. Nancy King’s latest bill, which would give tax credits to employers who have paid interns.
The bill, introduced Friday night, would allow qualified employers who have paid interns to receive tax credits for 10 percent of the earnings from each intern, up to $1,000.
“There are so many businesses that would love to have interns, but they are not sure how to go about [it],” King said. “It makes it much more attractive to the business owner as far as bringing interns in.”
King, a Democrat, also sponsored this university’s Student Government Association-inspired intern protection bill that passed last spring, making her an ally in the legislature, said Jake Kotler, SGA’s director of government affairs.
“I was ready to work with them again this year,” King said. “It was great working with the students, but I thought it was a really good experience for the students to not only get involved in an issue, but also see the process from an educational standpoint.”
About 80 percent of graduates held one internship in their time at this university, according to data collected by the University Career Center & The President’s Promise, which surveyed graduates from August 2014 to May 2015. Sixty-two percent of respondents said they had at least one paid internship.
After the intern protection bill’s success, Kotler said the SGA wanted to continue to find ways to serve students’ needs in the General Assembly. They found similar tax credit laws benefiting interns in a few other states, such as North Dakota, and took interest.
“We’re really lucky to be so well-received in Annapolis,” said Kotler, a junior government and politics major. “It’s been really awesome to be able to go down and be listened to and be taken seriously as a stakeholder in this process.”
The bill has a long road ahead before potentially becoming state law, but Kotler said the SGA’s goals for this session are to raise awareness and gain supporters from both inside and outside the state legislature.
Working to improve interns’ experiences is important because having an internship is becoming increasingly vital for students’ success after college, King said.
“We are all about getting kids through four years of college, but we also want to get them good, meaningful jobs,” said King, who serves on the state Senate’s Budget and Taxation Committee.
Junior computer science major Vinny Vencat has worked both as a paid and unpaid intern, and said he felt his work was more valued in his paid position.
“The more paid internships, the better,” Vencat said. “More college students with money is better in general for student debt, for the economy.”
King has heard positive feedback from some businesses and local leaders on the bill and said she looks forward to hearing more student views in the coming week — especially as the SGA works to find more sponsors around the State House in Annapolis.
“When we have students come down, you can notice that everyone around the table sits up and listens,” King said. “Students have a place down here.”
