Nov 25, 2019 | News, Newsletter
In under three years of operating its commercial PACE (property assessed clean energy) financing district, the greater Columbus region has become a national leader in energy efficiency and sustainability financing. With nearly $100 million invested, the region boasts the largest total investment of any region in the state. As of mid-2019, central Ohio also had the largest total commercial PACE investment of any single metropolitan region in the nation.
Nov 25, 2019 | News, Newsletter
Since the early 2000s, the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) has been tracking publicly announced North American automakers and supplier investment details. This information populates a proprietary database known as The Book of Deals, which is a part of CAR’s Automotive Communites Partnership (ACP). The Book of Deals covers capital investments—such as updating equipment, increasing production capacity at a plant, or building a new facility. The following analysis focuses on automakers that have publicly announced investments in North America from 2009 to 2019.
Nov 21, 2019 | Advocacy
SB 1 REGULATIONS (McColley, R., Roegner, K.) This bill would require each state agency to reduce the regulatory restrictions contained in its rules by 30% by 2022, according to a schedule and criteria set forth in the bill. It also prohibits an agency from adopting new regulatory restrictions that would increase the percentage of restrictions in the agency’s rules and requires an agency that does not achieve a reduction in regulatory restrictions according to the required schedule to eliminate two restrictions before enacting a new rule containing a restriction. It allows the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) to lessen an agency’s required reduction in regulatory restrictions if the agency fails to meet a reduction goal and show cause why the agency’s required reduction should be lessened. Effective January 1, 2023, it limits the total number of regulatory restrictions that may be in effect in Ohio. The bill passed in the Senate May 8 and has been referred to the House State and Local Government Committee, where a first hearing occurred June 12.
Nov 21, 2019 | Advocacy
HB 2 CREDENTIAL PROGRAMS (Cross, J., Lepore-Hagen, M.) This legislation introduced May 13 would provide $35 million in state funding in FY 2020 and FY 2021 for its programs, with funding allocated as follows:
– TechCred Program — $12.3 million a year to reimburse employers and individuals for training to receive a micro-credential, at the rate of $500-$2000 per credential;
– Industry Sector Partnerships Program — $2.5 million a year to support regional partnerships across the state, including a grant program to develop the partnerships and promote their mission.
The Bill was assigned to the House Economic & Workforce Development where several hearings occurred. An amendment was submitted June 5 that moved the TechCred application and due date to better align with education standards, better defined regional sector partnerships, removed audit authority from the bill, included race and gender demographic information gathering requirements, and barred employers with recent minimum wage violations. The revised bill passed in the House June 12 and was referred to the Senate Finance Committee, where it was reported out of the Committee November 5 with the following amendments:
Nov 18, 2019 | Jobs
The City of Delaware is hiring an Economic Development Coordinator! Do you have a strong background in marketing/communication and want to grow your economic development career or transition into a new career in economic development? We are seeking a person who has a stellar personality, is creative, organized and analytical, and loves customer relationship and project management.
