Craig's Running Mate Calls for Removing 'Regulatory Burden'

Delegate Jeannie Haddaway wants Marylanders to stop leaving the state, and she thinks fewer regulations may be the ticket.

"Every Marylander lives within 20 miles of a state line," Haddaway, who is running with fellow Republican Harford County Executive David Craig in the 2014 governor's race, told WBAL radio Wednesday. "It's not that hard for them to cross."

Haddaway represents the Eastern Shore, which juts up against Delaware, a state with no sales tax. Craig's jurisdiction of Harford County abuts Pennsylvania, where income and property taxes are lower.

Between 2000 and 2010, the state of Maryland lost 66,000 residents and $5.5 billion in taxable income to other states, according toMarylandReporter.com.

In addition to residents, Haddaway said Maryland must be more thoughtful regarding businesses.

"We need to retain the businesses that we have here but also attract new businesses," Haddaway said on WBAL. She cited the gas tax, which impacted both consumers and wholesalers, and the health care mandate as measures that were setbacks for business.

Maryland ranked 41st in the U.S. for business climate, placing it among the top 10 worst places for business based on income tax, sales tax, property tax, unemployment insurance tax and corporate tax, according to the 2013 business climate forecast from the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan research firm.

Recently, Haddaway's partner blasted the state for adopting new health care rates that prompted Aetna, the third largest insurance carrier in the country, to retreat from Maryland.

"We have to remove some of the regulatory burden," Haddaway said during the Aug. 21 radio show on WBAL. "We’re going to be looking at reducing the gas tax and rolling back some of these increases."

The primary for the 2014 election is June 24.