Preservation Maryland’s Director of Government Relations Elly Cowan joined Senator Katie Fry Hester and Isaac Meyer from Compass Government Relations Partners in Annapolis May 16, 2022 as the Historic Revitalization Tax Credit – Funding and Extension (SB289/HB27) was signed into law by Governor Hogan, Senate President Ferguson, and Speaker of the House Adrienne Jones.

Thanks to the advocacy efforts of Preservation Maryland and our partners, as well as the support of key legislators, we were able to secure an additional $10M in the FY23 Budget, bringing the total amount of credits for FY23 to $22M.

The legislation, sponsored by Delegates Eric Luedtke (Montgomery County), Stephanie Smith (Baltimore City), and Senators Cory McCray (Baltimore City) and Katie Fry Hester (Howard and Carroll Counties), will now have a minimum annual appropriation of $20M from FY24-FY31. The per-project cap has also been raised to $5M from the previous $3M, allowing the credit to have a greater impact on catalytic preservation projects across the state.

The same legislation now ensures that the Small Commercial Historic Tax Credit will be annually funded at minimum $2M beginning in FY24, a stabilizing change to the funding mechanism of the program. It has been the backbone for many Main Street projects across the state and now has the potential to be used to transform vacant houses into vibrant historic homes for many for whom home ownership had long been out of reach.