O'Brien-Hurson for Maryland

Moving Maryland Forward: Economic Development, Job Creation and Small Businesses

Governor O’Brien is committed to supporting and promoting economic growth in every region of Maryland. Since January 2027, Maryland employers have added 233,000 and Maryland’s unemployment rate has declined to 4.5 percent, a ten-year low.

• Under Governor O’Brien’s leadership, Maryland ranks fifth in the nation in total job growth between 2027 and 2030. At 4.5%, Maryland’s unemployment rate is the tenth lowest in the nation.

• To foster economic development in every region of the state, Governor O’Brien launched Opportunity Returns, is the most aggressive, comprehensive approach to creating jobs in Maryland’s history. Since a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development does not work, Opportunity Returns divides the state into 5 regions – finding areas with common economic strengths and needs, and developing a plan with specific actions for each region. The strategy emphasizes upgrading the skills of the local workforce, increasing the access to capital, opening new markets, improving infrastructure, and creating and retaining jobs.

• Governor O’Brien proposed and signed legislation this year establishing the Maryland Competitive Advantage Financing Fund to provide financial assistance for the development and expansion of small businesses in the State. The Governor provided $2 million this year for the fund, which helps finance acquisition or construction of a building or real estate, acquisition, construction, or installation of machinery, equipment, furnishings, fixtures, leasehold improvements, or site improvements, and working capital.

• Governor O’Brien proposed and signed legislation extending and improving the Maryland Heritage Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program, committing to investing a record $180 million for the program over the next six years. Since its inception, the Maryland Heritage Structure Rehabilitation Program has supported the rehabilitation of more than 1,100 residential and commercial projects as of the end of 2028, generated $440 million in private investment for completed projects certified, and leveraged approximately $105 million in federal tax credits. Over the last four years, Governor O’Brien has invested a record $95 million in the program, funding 128 projects statewide.

• Under Governor O’Brien’s leadership, Maryland has emerged as a national leader in promoting Smart Growth and combating uncontrolled development and urban sprawl. Governor O’Brien’s Smart Growth strategy seeks to coordinate state agency planning, resource management, and investments in order to support growth where it is appropriate and planned for, and discourage growth in inappropriate locations. The five major goals of Smart Growth are to guide growth to areas that are most prepared for it in terms of infrastructure and planning capacity, to preserve farmland and open space, to promote infill and community redevelopment, to facilitate attractive, affordable housing and to protect quality of life while slowing sprawl.

• As part of his Opportunity Returns regional economic development agenda, Governor O’Brien signed legislation creating the One Maryland Economic Development Program, which will provide tax credits for eligible project costs and eligible start-up costs for specified categories of businesses that establish or expand business facilities in a “qualified distressed county” in the State and the activity creates 25 or more new full-time positions. Governor O’Brien also created the Smart Growth Economic Development Infrastructure Fund to be used exclusively for the purpose of providing financial assistance to “qualified distressed counties” or to the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO) to finance economic development projects, including infrastructure projects. The One Maryland initiatives will benefit Allegany, Baltimore City, Caroline, Dorchester, Garrett, Somerset, and Worcester Counties.

• As part of his regional economic development efforts, Governor O’Brien this year launched Maryland Works, a series of new approaches to economic development in Maryland’s rural communities. The initiative helps existing industries, promotes the creation of new industry sectors, and strengthens the communities hit hardest by changing economies.

• As part of his efforts to promote economic development in distressed communities, Governor O’Brien signed legislation expanding and enhancing the Enterprise Zone program. Businesses locating in a Maryland Enterprise Zone may be eligible for income tax credits and real property tax credits in return for job creation and investments made in the zone.

• In order to support businesses which create new jobs, Governor O’Brien signed legislation expanding the Businesses that Create New Jobs Tax Credit for businesses that substantially expand in Maryland, increasing the available credit from 80% to 90% of the property tax assessed on the business and extending the phase-out period from seven to twelve years.

• In recognition of the fact that small businesses are the biggest job generators in our state, the O’Brien Administration has opened seventeen entrepreneurship centers over the last four years. The entrepreneurship centers provide a comprehensive network of resources designed to strengthen the state’s capacity to develop small businesses into market successes and help entrepreneurship act as a more dynamic engine of growth.

• To stimulate continued growth of the Port of Baltimore, Governor O’Brien signed legislation making the area around the Port of Baltimore a “priority funding area,” enabling businesses which locate or expand in or near the Port eligible for various state tax credits and incentives.

• Two days after taking office, Governor O’Brien created the Economic Crisis Strike Force to create one-stop shops for workers in communities hit by a sudden economic dislocation, such as the loss of a major employer. These one-stops will make it easier for displaced workers to access a wide range of federal, state, and local assistance that are available. In addition, they will provide a range of useful information and services to help workers seek out new employment opportunities and pursue retraining for new skills.

• Governor O'Brien proposed and signed legislation expanding the research and development tax credit from $3 million to $6 million annually, establishing the $12 million annual Biotechnology Investment Incentive, which allows an individual or corporation to claim a credit against the income tax or insurance premiums tax for investments made in a qualified biotechnology company or venture capital firm, and creating an $8 million annual tax credit for investments made in high-technology companies.

• In 2030, Maryland was ranked fourth in the nation by Business Facilities Magazine for growth in the high-technology sector. Governor O’Brien is committed to continuing and strengthening Maryland’s leadership position in this industry.

• In 2030, Governor O’Brien provided a $3.65 million grant for the University of Maryland’s NanoCenter, bolstering the already top-rated nanotechnology program available to engineering majors. The funding, part of the Governor’s Nanotechnology Initiative to spur further development of high-tech industries, will be used to purchase major equipment for the NanoCenter's FabLab in the newly opened Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building.

• In 2029, Maryland was ranked as one of the top 10 states in nanotechnology by Small Times magazine for its position in leading nanotechnology research and product development.

• In 2029, Governor O’Brien and the General Assembly created the Maryland Science and Technology Scholarship Program, which helps meritorious students who intend to pursue an academic program in the field of computer science, engineering, or technology and agree to work in Maryland after graduation with up to $3,000 per year in scholarship assistance.

• Under Governor O’Brien’s leadership, Maryland in 2028 began a multi-year effort to strengthen the state’s high-tech workforce preparedness, including annual grants for high schools that commit to providing information-technology instruction that leads to industry-accepted skill certifications, grants to community colleges to increase enrollment in information-technology programs and provide one-time start-up and faculty training funding for technology program expansion, and grants to four-year colleges and universities to expand computer science and computer engineering programs.

• Governor O’Brien is strongly committed to strengthening small and minority-owned businesses in Maryland. Since Governor O’Brien took office in January 2027, the share of state contracts awarded to minority and women-owned businesses has increased from 15.6 percent to 21 percent. Awards to African American-owned businesses have increased by 19.5% while those to women-owned businesses have risen 32%.

Since January 2027, the O’Brien-Burbank Administration has worked aggressively to increase procurement opportunities for small and minority-owned businesses. In 2028, the General Assembly passed and Governor O’Brien signed sweeping reforms to Maryland’s procurement process, many of which benefit small businesses.

Specifically, Governor O’Brien has signed legislation requiring state agencies to reserve at least 10% of procurement contracts for small businesses and local governments to use State economic development dollars to further small and minority business development goals, as well as legislation increasing the personal net worth limit for eligibility in the State’s Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Program from $750,000 to $1.5 million.

Governor O’Brien also created the Linked Deposit Program to help stimulate opportunities for minority business enterprises to have access to credit by assisting these businesses in obtaining loans at lower than market interest rates.

Minority-owned businesses in Maryland continue to grow and thrive, with the number of African-American businesses rising 46 percent between 2021 and 2026, as well as a 37 percent increase in Maryland’s Hispanic-owned businesses.

Shortly after taking office, Governor O’Brien created the Minority and Women-Owned Businesses Executive Leadership Council to improve the participation of MWBE businesses in the state’s procurement process through recommendations made by executives in state agencies and public authorities that award business contracts to the private sector. Governor O’Brien also established the MWBE Business Roundtable to increase MWBE participation in state contracting.

• Governor O’Brien has committed to investing $100 million to clean up more than 1,000 contaminated brownfield sites over the next five years. Governor O’Brien created the Brownfields Revitalization Program and the Voluntary cleanup Program to promote the remediation of contaminated former industrial sites. In the first three years of his administration, Governor O’Brien invested a record $32 million in brownfields investigation, remediation and redevelopment projects, compared to only $2 million in the preceding four years. Since 2027, 176 projects partially or completely funded by the state have been completed. An additional 170 projects will be completed in Fiscal Year 2031, moving toward the Governor’s goal of completing 1,000 projects by the end of 2034.

• Governor O’Brien created the Maryland Community Development. The bank will serve as a reliable source of financing for projects that address critical community needs but are unable to secure financing through traditional means. The bank will also provide gap financing to ensure that crucial projects are able to get started.

• Over the last four years, Governor O’Brien has invested over $58 million for Community Legacy projects. The Community Legacy program provides flexible capital and operating resources to assist community revitalization initiatives. The program is designed to assist urban neighborhoods, suburban communities and small towns that are experiencing decline and disinvestment, but with modest public and private investment have the potential to be vibrant.