The Frederick County Building Industry Association monitors and stays current on Local and State government initiatives and proposed legislation that will affect the building industry. Governor Hogan announced two initiatives for the State of Maryland that we will closely monitor in 2019 as both may be beneficial to Frederick County and our Members:
1. Governor Hogan signed Executive Order 01.01.2019.01. This creates the Maryland Opportunity Zone Leadership Task Force and includes the launch of the website and introduction of legislation and expansion of “workforce development”. Governor Hogan also announced that the More Opportunities for Marylanders Act of 2019 will extend a ten (10) year tax credit for each new job created by a company which locates to an Opportunity Zone or grows within an Opportunity Zone. There are Opportunity Zones located in Frederick County that will benefit from this initiative, and which will have a positive effect on the building industry.
2. Governor Hogan announced the “Building Opportunity Fund”. He plans to submit legislation during the 2019 Legislative Session which will provide $1.9 Billion in new school construction funding over the next five (5) years. This is the largest school construction investment in the history of Maryland, and this is in addition to the already $1.6 Billion for public school construction funding that is included in Maryland’s five (5) year Capital Improvement Program. This totals more than $3.5 Billion for proposed Maryland state investment for school construction projects.
Both initiatives are of great importance to Frederick County, its public schools, and its economic development. We welcome these initiatives as moving in the right direction for the State of Maryland and Frederick County, since they will provide great opportunities for our Local and State leadership to expand our already growing economy and workforce.
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