Green Economic Development

By Matt Smith

Matt has been a leader in the green building area over his first-term in the Legislature. He sponsored legislation that provided $35 million in tax credits for green building of new structure or retrofitting an existing structure into a green building. The bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously and ultimately was included in the Energy Independence Strategy as a $25 million grant program for green building in the context of small businesses and homeowners. Matt has also sponsored legislation that would provide tax credits for high performance manufacturing and glass technologies. He firmly believes that green sector development can provide a strong base from which our region and state can grow economically and add homegrown jobs.