The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • A16

16 THE BALTIMORE SUN NEWS SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014 RESPOND EDITORIAL A better box ban Our view: Backers of a bill to limit criminal background checks in hiring should incorporate the business community's reasonable suggestions A proposal in the Baltimore City Council to prohibit employers from asking about the criminal history of prospective employees until late in the hiring process has produced a strong backlash from the business community, and in particular the Greater Baltimore Committee. The GBC had been quietly lobbying against the measure for some time, but it has become much more vocal since the measure passed a preliminary vote unanimously, and now a final vote that had been scheduled for Monday appears likely to be postponed. GBC President Donald C. Fry said the group appreciates the intent of the legislation, but it is worried that enacting a restriction like this on the city level will make Baltimore less competitive with the suburbs. Doing business in the city is already more highly regulated than in the counties, and Fry has expressed concern that the "Ban the Box" law, as it is known, would discourage new companies from coming to the city and encourage those that are here to expand elsewhere or leave altogether.

We certainly agree that doing business in the city can be needlessly frustrating for business owners because of a bureaucracy that is often poorly coordinated and seemingly arbitrary, not to mention the much higher tax rates here. Alongside Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's goal of increasing the city's population by 10,000 families during the next decade must be a goal of increasing the number of businesses and jobs here. Anything that would detract from that aim must be viewed with great caution Does "Ban the Box" impose a job-killing burden on businesses? Perhaps the closest analog to Baltimore's situation would be that of Philadelphia, which enacted a very similar box-ban law in July, 201L At the time, Philadelphia had 526,456 private-sector jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As of the third quarter of 2013 (the most recent period for which statistics are available), it had 532,684 jobs. More pertinently, though, the share of the immediate region's private-sector jobs in Philadelphia compared to the adjacent counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey is virtually unchanged at almost 30 percent That is to say, it seems not to have made much difference one way or the other.

(For comparison's sake, Baltimore City's private-sector jobs increased by 5 percent during that period, and its share of the region's jobs increased slightly, from 25.2 percent to 25.5 percent, a modest reversal of a long-term trend that had seen a loss of jobs in the city and growth in the suburbs.) The GBC (of which Sun publisher Timothy E. Ryan is a board member) has raised two specific and eminently reasonable objections to the bill as it is currently drafted. The first is that the proposal actually makes a violation a criminal misdemeanor subject to up to 90 days of jail for each offense. That is clearly unnecessary. The Philadelphia statute levies a fine for offenses, which would seem more than sufficient to give the law teeth.

The GBC's second complaint is that the proposal does not allow a prospective employer to ask about or check for a criminal record until after a conditional offer of employment is made. That's inconsistent with a similar law dealing with city government hiring, which allows for criminal background checks of all finalists for a job before an offer is made. Given that time can be of the essence in hiring, businesses ought not be required to go through a conditional offer of employment to a candidate who will turn out to be unsuitable for a particular job because of his or her criminal past The bill's sponsor, Councilman Nick Mosby, has agreed to an amendment that would exclude positions for which a criminal conviction would automatically disqualify an applicant, but he needs to do more to listen to the business community's concerns. His amendment will delay a final vote on the bill by at least a week. He should take the time to at least make the two changes the GBC has suggested.

KAL'S VIEW KEVIN KALLAUGHER ST t've got a TW MOPEUNG? HlT Just pose It takes a village to get a kid to school How do you change a culture of chronic absenteeism in Baltimore City? It's like eating an elephant; you have to take one bite at a time principals face discipline for student absenteeism," March 16). After coordinating an attendance initiative in Baltimore City and working to help urban school districts improve attendance, there are a few things I know for sure. It takes collaboration to educate parents, students and school staff on attendance policy and procedure. It takes resources to remove barriers to attendance and it takes consistency to hold all parties accountable in making sure children attend school on a daily basis. This is more than a parent or a principal issue.

This is a community issue. Schools with great attendance rates have a few things in common School leadership and teachers have built solid relationships based on trust with parents and students, community partners are willing to volunteer to provide needed resources and incentives for families, and families have made the connection between good attendance and academic achievement Chronic absenteeism is a heavy lift not only in Baltimore but in cities across the country. It's going to take a concerted effort on behalf of everyone to make sure students attend school on a regular basis. When it comes down to it, we are all in this together. Heidi Stevens, Towson Obamacare a godsend for cancer patients I have a long medical history including multiple bouts of cancer.

The removal of lifetime caps on insurance coverage is just one of the many reasons I believe we need to keep the Affordable Care Act There are thousands, if not millions, of people who have been helped by the ACA since its inception in October 2010, especially those who had cancer as children It is a shame we have not heard more about the benefits rather than just the problems hurts more than helps," March 16). Cancer patients deal with myriad problems the ill feeling, the side effects from treatments and the fear it will return or that it will take their life. They should not also be burdened with the threat that their insurance company is going to cancel their coverage because their treatment is too expensive. Because I did have insurance, I was able to get various tests done that found my cancers early. This early detection afforded the doctors the best chance of removing and treating the cancer and saving my life.

Without that insurance, I would not be here. Thanks to my insurance coverage, when I felt the cancer had returned, I was able to go to the doctor and have the necessary tests to debunk my fears. Sadly, on several occasions, my fears were confirmed but, with early-stage diagnosis, I survived cancer more than once! The ACA will give more people access to these lifesaving tests. With early detection, more lives will be saved. Less drastic measures will not be necessary in many cases.

Less heartache will occur from families depleting their life savings, losing their homes as well as losing their loved ones. Are there issues with the ACA that need to be corrected? Yes. Will Congress do the right thing and protect Americans from the ills of our health insurance programs? One can only hope and pray that they will! Anna Renault, Essex Two political parties, one big failure The commentary regarding challenges facing the U.S. in the global economy economics," March 2) contained the most succinct and clear descriptions of our two chaotic political parties in the last 30 years that I have ever read. It is a shame those paragraphs can't be plastered across America to wake up the average, inattentive citizen as to the inefficiencies of our current parties and the lack of caring displayed by the politicians.

Raymond Daniel Burke is correct politicians of both parties are displaying unbelievable inadequacies serving the issues facing us nationally and globally. The Republicans have bankrupted us since Ronald Reagan, and the Democrats have done nothing but employ "finger in the dike" approaches. Very, very serious issues face us, and an entire Congress seems incapable of leading. To give him credit, I believe President Barack Obama has tried, but he is way too cosmopolitan for the average voter today. I am now registered as an independent after trying out both parties and I am not an extremist I fit squarely in the middle.

More and more people are telling me that perhaps we need a third party. Celie Hanauer, Abingdon WHAT ARE you I iriiV Pat mt ME UJ Talk to us The Baltimore Sun welcomes comments from readers on subjects of local and national relevance by email, by Twitter or on our Web site, baltimoresun.com. The Sun reserves the right to edit and publish them in the newspaper or on the Web site. Online E-mail us Twitter Our address THE BALTIMORE SUN A Tribune Publishing Company TIMOTHY E.RYAN Publisher, President and Chief Executive Officer NEWS ADMINISTRATION Triffon G. Alatzas, Senior Vice President, Executive Editor MARYLAND VOICES Andrew A.

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