Policy Priorities

TCM's Top Priorities | Biotechnology | Technology | Clean and Green Technology
| Tax Climate | Transportation | Higher Education | Workforce

TCM’s Top Priorities

  • Increase funding for the Maryland Biotech Tax Credit to $12 million.

  • Oppose implementing business tax changes that will adversely impact Maryland-based companies, including imposition of a computer services sales tax, that harm Maryland’s most innovative and fast-growing industries.

  • Explore the viability of authorizing the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System to allow a portion of its money to seed a new or existing venture fund that invests in local tech, biotech and green tech companies.

  • Develop and implement long-term, stable funding solutions for Maryland’s transportation infrastructure and higher education system.

Biotechnology

  • Increase to $12 million in FY2011 the funding for the Maryland Biotech Tax Credit and eventually double the funding for this program to $24 million annually as recommended in Governor Martin O’Malley’s Bio2020 Initiative. This tax credit is a critical component for seeding early-stage biotech companies to develop and thrive in Maryland. This program is featured in the national Biotechnology Industry Organization’s state best practices report for venture capital and discovery funds.

  • Explore the viability of authorizing the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System to allow a portion of its money to seed a new or existing venture fund that invests in local tech, biotech and green tech companies. State venture programs are a critical component to tech-led economic development. Such a program could target investments toward early-stage companies in Maryland’s most innovative sectors. Using pension fund monies could allow for much needed capital for tech, green tech, medical tech and biotech without the need for increasing the budget.

  • Carry out the recommendations of the Bio2020 Initiative and the Life Sciences Advisory Board Strategic Plan. The two initiatives provide a roadmap for growing Maryland’s biotech industry over the next 20 years. These recommendations were derived from the careful study and hard work by many of Maryland’s leading thinkers in higher education, science, government, economic development and the business community.

  • Continue stem cell research funding in Maryland at an appropriate level based on the needs of current stem cell funding beneficiaries and until more long-term policy clarity is available at the federal level. Supporting stem cell funding aligns with the goals of the Governor’s Bio2020 Initiative.

  • Oppose legislation that stifles innovation, including attempts to change or create laws regarding prescription drug importation, price controls, clinical trials, biomedical research and marketing restrictions.

  • Support funding for the growing field of nanotechnology research. This should include continued funding for nanobiotechnology research at the University System of Maryland and the Coordinating Emerging Nanobiotechnology Research (CENTR) in Maryland Program.

  • Support a strong network of tech and biotech incubators and research parks.

  • Support ways to grow biotech and tech licensing and commercialization opportunities.

  • Study the creation of a statewide angel network to help fund early-stage biotech companies.

  • Promote the BioMaryland brand for Maryland’s biotech industry, and coordinate with entities like the newly established Maryland Biotechnology Center at DBED to market Maryland and its entrepreneurial culture to outside biotech companies, researchers and venture capital companies.

Technology

  • Make the Maryland Research and Development Tax Credit permanent and double its current $6 million a year cap.

  • Maintain the budgets for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) during these difficult economic times. These entities provide vital economic development business assistance for tech and biotech companies in every stage of development.

  • Increase funding for DBED’s very successful Maryland Venture Fund and its two investment vehicles, the Challenge Fund and Enterprise Fund. The Fund makes direct equity investments in emerging technology and life sciences companies. According to DBED, which administers the Fund, approximately 60% of the Fund is invested in technology companies in the areas of software, communications, and IT security, and 40% is invested in life sciences companies in the areas of therapeutics, medical devices, and diagnostics.

  • Oppose taxing revenue from Maryland businesses providing advertising links to remote sellers. TCM is concerned that national vendors may pull their advertising from websites of Maryland businesses and choose to do business elsewhere. TCM suggests a better way to address this issue is the adoption of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA).

  • Encourage the migration of patient health records from paper to electronic format thus creating a seamless transfer of data between doctor, patient, hospitals, clinical trial provider and insurance firms.

  • Oppose any measure that institutes a tax on computer services or any new tax on Maryland’s high-tech industry. Such measures harm economic development efforts to attract and retain technology industries.

  • Increase focus on programs that support small and minority business development in tech industries.

  • Create stronger IT business development and marketing initiatives to actively advertise, market at trade shows and encourage IT companies from throughout the United States to relocate to Maryland. These efforts should include a resourced website that demonstrates IT opportunities in Maryland.

  • Expand the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program.

  • Create and implement a single statewide strategy for tech industry economic development.

  • Oppose onerous industry corporate reporting requirements that harm telecommunications innovation.

  • Support the continuation of rural broadband development by fostering the deployment of high-speed Internet service and other telecommunications and information technology services to rural areas of the state.

  • Support IT education initiatives such as digital content management programs as well as online and live digital film festivals to elevate the profile of Maryland as a production destination for filmmakers and videographers throughout the world.

  • Study the concept of allowing small businesses to sell unused research and development tax credits to other taxpayers.

  • Support entrepreneurship through focusing on tech transfer from universities and federal labs to the marketplace.

Clean and Green Technology

  • Support incentives for companies developing clean technologies for commercial use so Maryland can evolve into an energy efficiency leader and to develop the State into the preeminent location for clean technology commercialization and business investment.

  • Provide incentives for companies that purchase and use green energy.

  • Support incentives for clean and green alternative energy sources such as wind, biodiesel, geothermal, fuel cells, nanotechnologies and solar energy.

  • Study and implement incentives, financing, tax credits and intellectual property legislation that spurs the potential for making Maryland a leader in one of tomorrow’s cutting edge industries.

Tax Climate

  • Oppose major corporate tax policy changes until the Maryland Business Tax Reform Commission completes its work. Overall, taxes should be adequate to provide an appropriate level of those goods and services best provided by the public sector, such as education, public safety and transportation.

  • Support a fair and consistent tax climate that balances the needs of the business community with that of budgetary responsibility.

  • Oppose any measure that proposes to change the tax structure for manufacturers in Maryland.

  • Oppose corporate tax changes like the institution of combined reporting. These corporate tax changes make Maryland less competitive with surrounding states and particularly disadvantages Maryland biotech companies.

  • Oppose any legislation authorizing counties to adopt different property tax rates for different classes of real property.

  • Support the ongoing retention of single sales factor apportionment.

Transportation

  • Seek long-term funding stability for Maryland’s Transportation Trust Fund.

  • Support transportation projects that spur clean, tech-led economic development including the Corridor Cities Transitway and the I-270 widening project.

Higher Education

  • Ensure a college and graduate-level education is affordable for students and that loans and student aid are available for Maryland’s families. Explore the creation of more stable and predictable funding streams for Maryland’s universities and colleges, including capital funding. The Maryland higher education system is vital to providing a strong pipeline of tech and biotech workers for Maryland companies.

  • Support Maryland’s network of community colleges, which play a large role in Maryland’s tech-led economic development engine by training and retraining Maryland’s tech and biotech industry workers.

  • Create a scholarship program that encourages Maryland students, particularly women, to enter tech and biotech fields.

  • Recognize the importance through continued legislative support of the Montgomery College Bioscience Education Center, University of Maryland BioPark, University of Maryland College Park M Square Research Park, Johns Hopkins Science and Technology Park and other similar efforts throughout Maryland.

  • Support long-term funding solutions for important high-tech industry-related capital projects in the University System of Maryland.

  • Support university and community college tech and biotech development projects.

Workforce

  • Support the recommendations of the Governor’s STEM Task Force to establish Maryland as a global leader in the development of its workforce and its STEM-based research and economic development infrastructure. STEM Task Force recommendations include tripling the number of teachers in STEM shortage areas and increasing the number of STEM college graduates by 40 percent by 2015.

  • Institute recommendations of the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board, particularly those of the Information Technology Industry Initiative Committee and the Bioscience Industry Initiative Committee.

  • Better align curriculums offered by Maryland’s higher education institutions with the skill sets needed by the tech and biotech industries.

  • Recruit and retain highly skilled students graduating from Maryland’s colleges and universities, particularly in competitive tech-related fields.

  • Establish tech and biotech workforce skill development funds to increase workforce training opportunities and create stronger worker pipelines for Maryland’s most innovative companies.

  • Restore funding for DBED’s workforce training programs.

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