Appropriation to Stimulate Entrepreneurship

Last week the Council unanimously approved my proposal for a special appropriation for economic development. This additional funding will substantially increase the number of challenge grants and prizes available for entrepreneurs and innovators through the Department of Economic Development. It will also allow additional spending on marketing and business development programs generally and require the Department to submit a report in January outlining how the money will be spent.

We need this $150,000 increase because the regional economy is lagging. In fact, after years of strong performance relative to the nation, the metro area economy is lacking relative to other regions. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Washington, D.C.metropolitan area ranked 330th out of all U.S. metropolitan areas in terms of percentage change in real gross domestic product in 2013. In the second quarter of 2014, Maryland ranked 47th in terms of percentage change in personal income from the previous quarter. With this special appropriation, we are stimulating the local economy by encouraging entrepreneurship and job creation, and that's a good investment.