Earlier this session Speaker of the Senate Thomas V. Mike Miller and Speaker of the House Michael E. Busch joined forces to announce an economic development agenda to build on investments made over the course of the Governor Martin O’Malley Administration. In a joint commentary in The Baltimore Sun they stressed the success of Maryland’s economy and vision for the future and highlighted key points of the plan:

 The vision that we announced looks to the future. We cannot be content with having the No. 1 schools in the country five years in a row. We cannot be satisfied being ranked No. 1 in the country by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for entrepreneurship and innovation. We also cannot continue to lead the country in the amount of research dollars that flow into our state without capitalizing on our world renowned institutions.

We must give the business community the confidence to continue to invest and expand in our state’s economy. We need to build on the assets and anchor institutions that we have in our borders to create new job opportunities for Marylanders. We need to attract new talent and businesses to Maryland that want to take advantage of the highest median income and the highest number of workers with college and post graduate degrees, per capita, in the United States.

The joint economic agenda includes a private sector economic development commission, continued strategic investment in the cyber security sector, economic development zones around higher education institutions, business executive mentorship and changes to the estate tax.

For more information read the full commentary in The Baltimore Sun.