By MDBayNews Staff
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Ellis/Andrews gubernatorial campaign is urging lawmakers to amend House Bill 0188, the Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act of 2026, to allow displaced workers to use unemployment benefits to start their own businesses rather than remain locked into traditional job-search requirements.
Andy Ellis, seeking the Green Party nomination for governor, is calling for mandatory Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) provisions to be added before the bill advances out of the House Economic Matters Committee.
The concept is simple: let laid-off workers keep receiving their existing unemployment benefits while they build a viable business, without reducing benefits as early revenue begins to trickle in.
The Oregon Model
Ellis points to Oregon’s SEA program, launched in 1995, as a model. According to campaign materials citing federal research, more than 1,500 businesses were launched under the program, with roughly 77 percent still operating years later. Nearly half of the successful participants reportedly went on to hire employees, averaging just over three additional jobs per business.
Department of Labor data has previously suggested SEA participants were significantly more likely to become self-employed compared to eligible non-participants.
“Oregon proved that when you trust workers to build businesses, they don’t just create a job for themselves — they create jobs for their neighbors,” Ellis said in a statement.
What the Amendment Would Do
The proposed amendment to HB0188 would:
- Allow eligible displaced workers to opt into a self-employment track
- Waive job-search requirements for approved participants
- Prevent early business income from reducing unemployment benefits
- Require review and support from Small Business Development Centers
- Mandate implementation within 180 days
Campaign officials argue the program would be “budget neutral,” as it would not extend benefit duration or increase total benefit amounts.
Maryland once enacted SEA provisions in 1995, but never implemented the program. Those provisions have since been removed from state code.
A Rare Moment of Potential Overlap
While the proposal comes from a Green Party campaign — which has also emphasized reparations and a broader “solidarity economy” platform — the SEA concept could draw interest from more market-oriented lawmakers.
Allowing individuals to build independent income streams rather than remain dependent on extended unemployment checks aligns with longstanding center-right principles around entrepreneurship and self-reliance.
However, implementation questions remain. Would Maryland’s Department of Labor have the administrative capacity to evaluate business feasibility? How would fraud prevention work? And would the program meaningfully scale beyond a small pilot?
Those details would likely determine whether the idea attracts bipartisan support — or stalls like Maryland’s earlier attempt three decades ago.
Modern Economy, Old Rules
Ellis argues Maryland’s unemployment system is outdated, built for an economy where laid-off workers simply found similar jobs at similar companies.
Increasingly, displaced workers are moving into consulting, gig work, and fractional contracting roles. Under current rules, early contract income can reduce or eliminate benefits, discouraging entrepreneurial transition.
Critics may counter that unemployment insurance was designed as a temporary bridge back to traditional employment — not a startup incubator. Others will question whether state government should play referee in determining which business ideas merit public support.
Still, with ongoing economic uncertainty and workforce shifts accelerating post-pandemic, the broader question may resonate: should unemployment systems adapt to the contractor economy?
Political Context
The Ellis/Andrews campaign is seeking the Green Party nomination in 2026. Maryland has historically been dominated by Democrats statewide, with Republicans competing for executive office, but third-party candidates rarely gaining significant traction.
Even so, policy ideas can outlive campaigns.
If lawmakers are serious about modernizing unemployment insurance, they may find that empowering displaced workers to build businesses — rather than simply directing them to submit résumés — is at least worth a hearing.
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