State Senator Mary Beth Carozza

mdcoastdispatch Article Hogan Announces $15M In Route 90 Funding Jun 14,2022 by Charlene Sharpe Gov. Larry Hogan is pictured at a press conference Monday at the foot of the Route 90 bridge. Photo by Charlene Sharpe. OCEAN CITY – Gov. Larry Hogan on Monday announced $15 million in funding to complete planning for Route 90 improvements. With the Route 90 bridge in the background, Hogan announced Monday that $15 million in funding would advance the state’s “Reach the Beach” plan to improve safety, access and congestion relief projects on Route 90. The project has been a local priority for years. “Today, at my direction, the state is investing $15 million to accelerate forward the entire planning phase and to move the Route 90 improvements ahead into the design phase which is an important and critical step closer to making this a shovel-ready project,” Hogan said. Last summer, Hogan announced that the state’s Consolidated Transportation Plan would include $850,000 for Route 90 planning. The 12-mile corridor between Route 50 and Coastal Highway carries about 33,000 vehicles a day on weekends in the summer and has long been in need of improvements. This week, just days after announcing the launch of a $28 million Bay Crossing study, Hogan said the state would provide $15 million in funding to finish Route 90 planning. “Today we’re taking another important step in our ‘Reach the Beach’ plan, addressing one of the top transportation priorities for Ocean City, for Worcester County and for the state of Maryland …,” he said. “Route 90 was originally built to help get beach bound travelers to the rapidly growing parts of northern Ocean City, but it was designed also to be a primary hurricane evacuation route. For many years upgrading Route 90 has been a top priority not only for safety, for access and for the local economy but also for its vital role in emergency response.” Hogan said the St. Martin River crossing and the Assawoman Bay crossing were built in the 1970s and half a century later were in need of upgrades. The planned improvement study will look at the bridges as well as the entire Route 90 corridor. “Obviously we will continue to collaborate very closely with Worcester County, with Ocean City, throughout the entire process to ensure the new and improved Route 90 corridor will meet the growing economic needs of the region while also preserving the rural small town atmosphere that residents and visitors alike have come to know and love,” Hogan said. Sen. Mary Beth Carozza, who was among the officials in attendance for the announcement, praised Hogan’s commitment to Eastern Shore priorities. She noted that the Route 113 improvements in Worcester County had been completed while Hogan was in office.   Hogan is pictured with Sen. Mary Beth Carozza, and Commissioners Ted Elder and Josh Nordstrom. Photo by Charlene Sharpe. “When we do have a priority project in Worcester County, like the Route 113 widening – that was completed under Governor Hogan’s leadership,” she said. “Then when we did the pivot on the next project, Governor Hogan has made it a priority.” Worcester County Commissioner Ted Elder said he was thrilled to see safety improvements being planned for one of the county’s key roadways. He pointed out that Route 90 was a vital way in and out of Ocean City. “It’s great to finally get things moving on this,” he said. “It’s really a safety issue. If anything happens with the bridge on Route 50 and you have an emergency, this is it. The sooner we get it done the better it will be.” Earlier this month, the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration announced the start of a “Planning and Environmental Linkages” study for Route 90. The public will have the opportunity to learn about the study, which is expected to evaluate the improvements needed, during a virtual public meeting set for June 21. A link and information regarding the virtual public meeting, which will be held June 21 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., can be found on the agency’s website.

WORCESTER COUNTY HAS CREATED A WEBSITE FOR BOTH EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYERS TO LOCATE EACH OTHER: Job Seekers and Employers Invited to Engage with New Coastal Careers Job BoardSnow Hill, Maryland (June 3, 2022) Worcester County Economic Development staff invite job seekers and business owners to engage with their new website, Coastal Careers JobBoard at workmarylandscoast.org/ The Coastal Careers Job Board site allows community members to identify jobopportunities within their fields of interest that are available in Worcester County. It is also anoutstanding resource where businesses may post their vacant positions. The website is free to the community and offered in partnership with local municipalities, Chambers of Commerce, andtrade organizations. No account is required to view available jobs. However, to submit anapplication or resume online, a free account is required. Interested employers will then contactapplicants to potentially schedule an interview.

SENATOR CAROZZA WAS RECENTLY INTERVIEWED BY GREG BASSETT FOR PAC 14. CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW. PAC 14 INTERVIEW  

SALISBURY, Md. – The Eastern Shore Delegation touted their accomplishments and answered questions from the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce Thursday afternoon, as part of the Post Legislative Forum. The members pointed to their achievements such as passing a $61 billion state budget, repealing a ban on natural gas construction by 2024, while passing tax breaks for purchasing farm equipment and retiring seniors. Senator Mary Beth Carozza says the senior tax break was 8 years in the making. “I have people that told me if we could not make the progress they were thinking of leaving the state of Maryland some just crossing the line and into Delaware or going south so this became for us a top priority and a top priority for the Governor,” she said.  She tells us like many of the bills passed this session, the senior tax breaks were funded by Maryland’s budget surplus. But not all bills that were passed saw unanimous support from the delegation, like paid family leave, which drew criticism from the business community and republican members of the delegation. “That kind of bill is coming at the wrong time with historic inflation, with a war in eastern Europe, a recession that I feel is about to start, this is just an additional burden for small businesses,” said Representative Chris Adams. Speaker Pro Tempore Sheree Sample Hughes defended the legislation, saying the state has until 2025 before payouts begin, and calling on her own experience of caring for a sick family member. “This program for me personally, I’m looking at citizens who had to care for loved ones care for their sick child or care for their husbands who just had open heart surgery which was me in 2017 and its why I had to support it,” she said. One area members of the delegation said they wished they could have done more was expanding the state’s gas tax holiday, and eliminating the increase in the state’s gas tax as tied to the CPI. Currently, the gas tax in Maryland is set to increase as inflation increases, which Senator Carozza tells us was something she was hoping to eliminate. “We had introduced the bill to stop the increasing but unfortunately it did not pass,” she said. Members of the delegation tell us they will spend the time between legislative sessions working on implementing the state’s paid family leave and state-run insurance for small businesses, working out the greater details of the policy that passed, and scaling up state resources to support the rollout. To view the video excerpt from WMDT: Eastern Shore Delegation Tout Legislative Accomplishment at Post Legislative Session Forum - 47abc (wmdt.com)