Build & They Will Come

February 28, 2022

If you build it, they will come. Last year the General Assembly passed SB127, which created the Site Readiness Fund—a $10 million investment by Governor John Carney. The Fund's goal is to accelerate site readiness and attract companies by making sites "shovel-ready", meaning water, electric, and other utilities are brought near the site to accelerate the development process. This legislation was a goal of the Ready in 6 coalition—comprised of the State Chamber, the Delaware Business Roundtable, and other business and industry groups.

Delaware may be small, but we can’t be small and slow. Being Ready in 6 means a project can be off the ground in no longer than six months. It is a key factor in site selectors' decisions when determining where to locate and is essential for Delaware to remain competitive and create new job opportunities.

Thirteen companies and municipalities have already applied for the Site Readiness Fund with a combined $15.1 million requested. While this legislation goes a long way in helping establish shovel-ready sites, there is still much work to be done. The State Chamber supports these efforts and looks forward to advocating for changes in permitting or regulatory barriers to economic development projects.

Uniquely Delaware

Delaware's State of Emergency will terminate at 6pm on March 1

Governor John Carney on Monday announced that he will sign an order terminating the COVID-19 State of Emergency and the masking requirement in public and private K-12 schools and child care facilities effective at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1.

The announcement is consistent with new masking guidance issued on Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Governor Carney also announced that vaccine or testing requirements for educators and state employees will expire at 11:59 p.m. today, Monday, February 28. Read the full release >

In the below map, the COVID-19 community level in New Castle County is classified as low and medium in Kent and Sussex Counties.

Source: CDC

News You Can Use

The markets are rumbling around given the geopolitical landscape and the uncertainty that brings. In the meantime, the schedule for economic news starts on Tuesday with construction spending results from January. The ADP employment report for February is public on Wednesday and Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies in the House of Representatives too. On Thursday we’ll learn of jobless data from February, factory orders from January, and the Fed Chair testifies before the Senate Banking Committee at 10:00 a.m. We wrap up the week on Friday with February reports covering unemployment figures, average hourly earnings, and labor force participation.

Companies with earnings calls this week start today with GoodRx Holdings, HP, and Party City. Salesforce starts us off on Tuesday, followed by AMC Entertainment Holdings, Hormel Foods, Kohl’s, Target, and VW International. Dollar Tree headlines the lineup for Wednesday, along with Global Ship Lease, American Eagle Outfitters, and Splunk. Broadcom, Best Buy, Kroeger, Utz Brands, Toro, and Rapid Micro Biosystems wrap up the week.

Michael J. Quaranta

President

Delaware State Chamber of Commerce

In celebration of Black History Month, we will spotlight some of our Black-Owned & Managed Business Members:

Learn more

DSU enjoys a long history as one of America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Originally founded in 1891, DSU is one of the country’s first land-grant educational institutions. Their current population includes a 63% African-American enrollment and an increasing number of Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian and other international students.

DSU cut the ribbon last week on its Riverfront building >