On March 4, Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally testified before the Ways and Means and Budget and Taxation Committees to support SB 427 / HB 498 – Economic Development – Delivering Economic Competitiveness and Advancing Development Efforts (DECADE) Act with amendments.
This bill proposes a comprehensive restructuring of Maryland’s economic development programs to centralize funding and policy decisions and shift priorities toward targeted industries.
While modernizing economic development is a worthy goal, economic growth is most effective when local and regional leaders help shape policies that reflect their communities’ unique needs. Counties request amendments to preserve local flexibility, protect proven incentive programs, maintain meaningful input in funding decisions, and ensure workforce development strategies align with local and regional priorities.
SB 427 takes an essential step toward modernizing Maryland’s economic development strategy. However, counties must remain partners in this process − not merely recipients of State-determined priorities. To ensure effective, locally driven economic growth, MACo urges amendments to uphold local decision-making, sustain effective incentive programs, ensure county input in economic development funding, and align workforce initiatives with local and regional needs.
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