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According to CNBC
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, thanks to Governor Hogan’s “forward thinking” and results-oriented
leadership, Maryland ranks as “2021’s most improved state for business.” From
2019, Maryland has moved up 19 places and improved in eight categories,
including ranking second for “Technology and Innovation.”
Under previous governors, Maryland “struggled for years to bring its
infrastructure into the 21st century.” However, under Governor Hogan, “while
others were focused on traditional infrastructure components, Maryland was
developing its broadband system and strengthening its power grid — both of
which have taken on new importance these days.” Governor Hogan has also been
advocating
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for Congress to replicate this successful approach in a federal infrastructure
bill.
The CNBC analysis also found that Maryland “weathered the pandemic better than
most” and is “outpacing the national rate of overall economic growth.”
Read The Full Story Here >>
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2021′s Most-improved state for business is Maryland. New infrastructure
thinking is the reason
Scott Cohn
July 13, 2021
CNBC
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“As an old state with aging roads and bridges, Maryland has struggled for
years to bring its infrastructure into the 21st century. Or so it seemed.
It turns out that the century just needed to catch up with Maryland. Because
while others were focused on traditional infrastructure components, Maryland
was developing its broadband system and strengthening its power grid — both of
which have taken on new importance these days.
That kind of forward thinking in the Old Line State catapults Maryland 19
places higher in CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business ranking. The state
finishes No. 12 overall in 2021, as compared to No. 31 place in our previous
study in 2019, making it this year’s most-improved state.
Maryland actually improved in eight of the study’s ten categories of
competitiveness, only declining in Workforce (No. 10 in 2021 versus No. 6 in
2019) and Access to Capital (No. 18 this year, down from No. 14 in our last
study). But nowhere does Maryland improve more than in Infrastructure, where it
finishes 8th in 2021, up from 41st in 2019. And that has everything to do with
the changing definition of the category.
Infrastructure expansion
Next door in Washington, D.C., there is plenty of debate over just how much
that definition has changed, with the Biden administration arguing that the
federal government should also increase funding for so-called ‘human
infrastructure’ like child care, an idea that Republicans generally reject. But
on some aspects of the expansion, there is bipartisan agreement.
After more than a year of working and learning remotely, both political
parties generally agree that broadband is an essential element of a modern
infrastructure. And after the deadly power outages in Texas earlier this year,
most agree that a reliable power grid is important, too.
Both are new metrics in the Infrastructure category of America’s Top States
for Business this year, and that plays to Maryland’s strengths.
Thanks to a years long effort to modernize its power grid, Maryland has one of
the best-performing grids in the nation, according to U.S. Department of Energy
data. The average customer is without power for about two hours per year (by
contrast, in the least reliable state, Maine, the average is more than 15 hours
per year). And things could get even better. The state’s electric utilities
announced a plan this year to join forces to build a so-called “smart grid”
throughout the state, using automation to make the grid even more reliable as
well as more efficient.
When it comes to broadband, most Marylanders can connect to the internet at
blazing speeds, according to BroadbandNow Research, which ranks the state third
for connectivity behind New York and New Jersey. Broadband access is available
to more than 95% of the population in the state, with an average speed of 196.2
Mbps.
But the state is not stopping there. In April, Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican,
signed into law the Digital Connectivity Act of 2021, establishing a state
broadband office to ensure all residents have access to broadband service
within five years, and administering $300 million in federal stimulus funds to
make it affordable.
‘Here in the state of Maryland, we come together to solve problems,’ said
State Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, at the bill signing ceremony.
‘We are going to treat broadband like a utility, like electricity, like roads.’
‘The fact that the governor and legislature agreed that broadband is this
important, that they gave that amount of funding to it, I think is very
encouraging,’ said Kenrick Gordon, director of the new Office of Statewide
Broadband, in an interview with CNBC.
Gordon, an engineer, previously headed the state’s efforts to expand broadband
access to rural parts of the state. The new office will continue that work, but
also will focus on underserved urban areas to bridge the digital divide.
‘We have hit the ground running. We shortly will have a subsidy program to
announce that will help low income households better afford broadband,’ he
said. ‘The pandemic showed us how important that connectivity was. And our
focus is to make sure that connectivity is available, and it does happen across
Maryland,’ he added.
Gordon also noted that broadband expansion creates some practical, competitive
advantages for the state.
‘Studies have shown houses that are connected sell faster. Houses that are
connected sell for about eight percent more than houses that are disconnected,’
he said.
Gordon said the new funding will also help wire desirable areas like the
Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland, allowing them to compete for the new breed
of remote workers.
‘Companies found in the pandemic that maybe people don’t need to return to
work full time. Maybe they can continue working from home suddenly,’ he said.
‘That means if somebody had been working for a company in Chicago and decided
they wanted to move to Charles County, they can’t do that without connectivity.’
Infrastructure not the only bright spot
Other categories where Maryland shows notable improvement in 2021 include
Economy, rising to No. 20 from No. 35 in 2019. The state weathered the pandemic
better than most, adding about 220,000 jobs year-over-year as of May, and
outpacing the national rate of overall economic growth.
The state improved to No. 2 in Technology and Innovation from No. 5 in our
previous study. The state’s various research institutions maintained their
solid record of attracting federal grant money, and Maryland inventors outpace
the country for patents.
Maryland improved to No. 18 in Education from No. 23 in 2019. In addition to
its usually solid test scores and robust support for K-12 and higher education,
Maryland is home to four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs),
a new metric in this year’s study.
Together, Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Morgan State
University, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore generate $1 billion in
economic impact, according to the United Negro College Fund. In an era of
heightened social consciousness and inclusiveness, companies are increasingly
seeking out HBCUs as research partners and sources for qualified graduates,
site selection experts tell CNBC.”
AN UPDATE FROM TWITTER
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CNBC: 2021′s most-improved state for business is Maryland. New infrastructure
thinking is the reasonhttps://t.co/o7hQCtwH09 <[link removed]>
— Larry Hogan (@LarryHogan) July 13, 2021
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Very proud of my incredible wife for being listed among @InStyle
<[link removed]>'s 50 "badass" women of 2021
for her work to bring art therapy to hospitalized children and for courageously
speaking out against the rise in anti-Asian violence and discrimination.
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— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) July 16, 2021
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