Maryland will soon be the first state in the nation to tax Walmart for failing to provide adequate health insurance coverage for its workers.

Versions of The Fair Share Health Care Act have passed both the Maryland House and Senate but the bill has not yet made it through both houses. Since Walmart employees often qualify for state health care programs for low income uninsured workers, the state wants Walmart to stop shifting the cost of its workers health care to taxpayers. Anne Healey, a Democrat in Maryland's House of Delegates, is chief sponsor of the bill.

[Anne Healey 1]: "Maryland has always been a progressive state. I think this is cutting edge. And it's very important. And if we can succeed with this in Maryland it can be a model for the whole country."

Opponents of the bill fear Walmart won't locate a big warehouse in Maryland should the state require Walmart to pay eight percent of its payroll for workers health care. But Delegate Healey says unless Walmart becomes a good corporate citizen, Maryland doesn't want it doing business thereŠ

[Healey 2]: "I don't think we want companies that are unwilling to provide a decent living for the people that they hire. We want companies that are going to maintain the quality of life and the quality of our economy in Maryland."

Healey says there are enough votes to to override a threatened veto of this bill by Maryland's Republican governor