January 20, 2010

New Jobs Incentive Fund will Give State Important Tool to Put People to Work

Dover – In advance of a State of the State address which will focus on improving the state’s economy, Governor Jack Markell proposed today the launch of a “Jobs Incentive Fund” to give the state an important new tool to help create and sustain private sector jobs and modernize Delaware’s economic development incentives.

“Delaware needs to be and can be the best place in the country to start and grow a business. We need new efforts to bring high-quality jobs to and expand economic opportunity for our state. We need to be able to react quickly, invest wisely and come together to keep people working and get others who need it back to work,” Markell said.

The proposed fund will target businesses that promote the development of local supplier networks, draw out-of-state dollars, reach markets beyond Delaware’s borders, and have the highest multiplier effects on the State’s economy. The Jobs Incentive Fund will prioritize business in export-based industries that diversify Delaware’s economy, create jobs with a minimum salary of $20,000 and promote clean tech innovation, manufacturing and deployment.

The Jobs Incentive Fund updates the Blue Collar Jobs Act, which was first passed in 1979 and revised in 1984.  Senator Robert Marshall, Chairman of the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, played a key role in shaping that legislation which provided valuable support to large and small projects through tax credits. This week, he will introduce the legislation that will create the Jobs Fund. This Jobs Fund is not connected with the Blue Collar Jobs Training Program, which remain as-is.

In the past year, the state has facilitated new business development and relocations efforts like Fisker Automotive from out of state, helped businesses like Advanced Aerosol, Baltimore Aircoil and many others to expand and has helped over 35 companies that employ several hundred Delawareans through the Governor’s Small Business LIFT program.  The Governor recently announced that DNREC and DelDOT will answer the majority of all permit applications within 60 days, created a STEM Council to create a workforce ready for high-tech jobs, and launched a partnership with the Sustainable Energy Utility that could create between 375-625 skilled jobs retrofitting state buildings.