Preservation Maryland has been working hard on two important pieces of legislation to improve our state Historic Tax Credit program. With the Maryland General Assembly in Session for just over a month more, now is a great time to contact your legislators and ask them to support historic preservation in Maryland. Here’s how:
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS
Do your legislators support historic preservation in Maryland? Please ask them to support the following historic preservation and economic development bills. We’ve made it easy to contact your legislators to send them a message encouraging their support on these important measures.
MARYLAND HERITAGE STRUCTURE REHABILITATION TAX CREDIT
RESERVE FUND – MANDATED APPROPRIATION
In the past two weeks, Preservation Maryland testified in favor of Senate Bill 481/House Bill 954 which would increase the funding of the Competitive Commercial Historic Tax Credit from $9M to $15M. The bill was introduced by Sen. Bill Ferguson (Baltimore City) and cross-filed in the House of Delegates by Del. Alonzo Washington (Prince George’s County). As of 2018, Maryland invested only $9M in this program for the entire state. By comparison, Virginia invests nearly $100M annually in their state historic tax credit. Massachusetts and Wisconsin, each with similar state budgets and population size to Maryland, both invest approximately $50M annually in their state programs. Maryland has fallen far behind and this legislation will begin to address that issue.
COMMERCIAL REHABILITATIONS – AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND TRANSFERABILITY
In the coming weeks, Preservation Maryland will testify at the hearings for Senate Bill 967/House Bill 1454, also introduced by Sen. Bill Ferguson and cross-filed in the House of Delegates by Del. Alonzo Washington that would provide an additional 5% credit for historic tax credit projects resulting in affordable housing, thereby incentivizing but not requiring this use. The legislation also includes policy changes that make the state historic tax credit program more effective, cost less, and make more dramatic impacts across the state by allowing the credit to be transferred outside of the partnership in which it was generated and eliminating a burdensome requirement that prevents multiple tax credits from going to functionally related structures.