There is a Department of Commerce. The Department is a principal department of State government.

The Secretary: is the head of the Department; and is responsible for the operations of the Department.

Except as otherwise provided by law, the Secretary: shall determine the organizational structure of the Department; and may create or abolish units in the Department. The Governor or the Secretary may establish advisory or decision–making units for the Department. The units shall advise and assist the Secretary on the policies, programs, and activities of the Department. The Governor or the Secretary shall determine the size, qualifications, method of appointment, terms, compensation, manner of removal, and method of filling vacancies of the units. The Secretary shall establish regional offices in the local jurisdictions. The regional offices shall: advise the Secretary on whether the economic needs of each local jurisdiction are being addressed; and coordinate with municipal and local economic development agencies.

To attract and encourage business development and serve the needs of business, the Department shall: advance the economic welfare of the public through programs and activities that develop in a proper manner the natural resources and economic opportunities of the State; promote and encourage the location and creation of new industries and businesses in the State and encourage the retention and expansion of existing industries; support the creation of new businesses and the growth of existing businesses in the State by improving their quality, productivity, and competitive position in the global marketplace; assist the growth and revitalization of small businesses; support the growth of the State and regional economies by providing consulting, technical assistance, and liaison activities on business and economic development issues; promote the development of international trade activities; assist businesses and employees through training and other employment services; promote regulatory reform and coordinate efforts with other State and local units; and foster and develop employment opportunities for residents of the State.

The Department shall: investigate and assemble information about the economic development, industrial opportunities, and economic resources of the State, including raw materials, power and water resources, transportation facilities, markets, labor, banking and financing facilities, industrial sites, and other fields of research; encourage location and development of new businesses in the State and the retention and expansion of present enterprises in coordination with local governments and local economic development units; encourage formation of local and sectional development committees and cooperate with local civic groups and other local, State, and federal development units; disseminate information in the interest of industrial development in the State, by publication, advertising, and other means; assist businesses in the areas of technology development and commercialization, small business development, workforce development and productivity, manufacturing modernization, and defense conversion; serve as an ombudsman for businesses affected by State policies and programs; coordinate business assistance service delivery to individual companies; link groups of businesses to address regional and industry specific needs; broker information exchange and entrepreneurial services that enhance economic development through partnerships with businesses, nonprofit organizations, professional groups, local economic development entities, and local governments; assist in developing and conducting regional strategic planning and coordinating State investments with regional economic development entities; collect and assemble information and data available from other State units or instrumentalities; monitor economic conditions, release reports, and maintain interindustry models of State regulations and local economies; use community colleges in the State to help deliver services; administer the programs in the Department; coordinate its efforts and activities with the Apprenticeship and Training Council and Apprenticeship and Training Program in the Maryland Department of Labor; establish and monitor performance measures to determine the success of outreach efforts to businesses; facilitate regular meetings among its regional experts, financial incentive team, and tourism development team to determine the success in meeting overall economic development strategic goals and in addressing the economic development needs of each region; work with community colleges to enhance the role of community colleges in providing workforce training services, including industry–specific education and training in response to the needs of the State; and define, identify, and compile data on State and regional workforce needs; and work collaboratively with the Maryland Department of Labor and the Maryland Higher Education Commission to produce uniform and consistent baseline data, including common sources and measurements, about workforce needs to inform State policies relating to postsecondary education.

The Department shall support industry–led regional technology councils that help private enterprises attempting to establish or expand manufacturing and technology–based businesses. The Department may: select an entity as the regional technology council for a particular region; and determine the geographic areas that constitute a region for purposes of this section. The Department may support a regional technology council through grants, loans, in–kind assistance, advice, or other assistance.

To the extent practicable, the Department shall use pertinent data obtained from units or instrumentalities of the State when collecting and assembling information. Except to the extent that disclosure is prohibited by law, the Department has access to all records, data, information, and statistics of other units or instrumentalities of the State.

In this section, “economic development program” means: the Strategic Closing Fund established under § 5–108 of this article; the Partnership for Workforce Quality Program established under Title 3, Subtitle 4 of this article; each of the economic development and financial assistance programs established under Title 5 of this article; and each of the tax credit programs administered by the Department, including: the Film Production Activity Tax Credit; the Job Creation Tax Credit; the One Maryland Economic Development Tax Credit; the Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit; the Research and Development Tax Credit; the Security Clearance Administrative Expenses and Construction and Equipment Costs Tax Credit; the Innovation Investment Incentive Tax Credit; the More Jobs for Marylanders Tax Credit; the Purchase of Cybersecurity Technology or Service Tax Credit; the Opportunity Zone Enhancement Tax Credit; the Small Business Relief Tax Credit; any other tax credit program that is administered by the Department under: Title 6 of this article; or Title 10, Subtitle 7 of the Tax – General Article; and the Theatrical Production Tax Credit. The Department shall compile data in accordance with this section on the economic development programs administered by the Department. On or before December 31, 2013, and each year thereafter, the Department shall submit a report on the economic development programs that were administered by the Department during the previous fiscal year to the Governor and, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly. The report required under subsection (c) of this section shall include the following data, if applicable, on the economic development programs administered by the Department: the number of jobs created; the number of jobs retained; the minimum, maximum, and average salary of the jobs created or retained; for each of the following categories, the number of jobs created or retained that: provide career advancement training; provide paid leave; offer employer–provided health insurance benefits that do not exceed 8.5% of the employee’s net monthly earnings; and offer retirement benefits; the estimated amount of State revenue generated; the status of any special fund; for minority business enterprises, as defined in § 14–301 of the State Finance and Procurement Article: the number of enterprises that received assistance from each economic development program; and the percentage of assistance distributed to each minority business enterprise from each economic development program compared to the total assistance distributed from each economic development program; a statement indicating whether, during the current reporting year, the Department reduced, revoked, or recaptured a tax credit or any amount of financial assistance from a recipient and, if applicable: the total amount recovered as a result of the reduction, revocation, or recapture, and any penalty assessed; and a justification for the reduction, revocation, or recapture; and any additional information required by the Department through regulations. The report required under this section shall include data in the aggregate and disaggregated by: each economic development program; and each recipient of assistance from an economic development program. The report required under this section shall include any additional information required under the law authorizing the economic development program. The Department shall establish, maintain, and update annually a publicly available database on the Department’s website that: provides information that is downloadable by the public in a common machine–readable format; and includes, as applicable: the name of each business entity that is a recipient of an economic development program; the total amount of tax credits certified, financial assistance paid, and loans forgiven or uncollectible by the Department for each recipient of the tax credit or financial assistance; the number of jobs actually created or retained by each recipient; the minimum, maximum, and average salary of the jobs created or retained by each recipient; the amount of capital investment made or project costs incurred by each recipient; and a statement indicating whether, during the current reporting year, the Department reduced, revoked, or recaptured a tax credit or any amount of financial assistance from a recipient and, if applicable: the total amount recovered as a result of the reduction, revocation, or recapture, and any penalty assessed; and a justification for the reduction, revocation, or recapture. If a recipient of assistance from an economic development program is not meeting the requirements of the economic development program, the Department shall implement a process to assist the recipient in meeting the program requirements. On or before December 1, 2029, the Department shall submit a report on the economic development programs administered by the Department that were altered by Chapters 351 and 352 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 2026 to the Governor and, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly. The report required under this subsection shall include analysis of: whether the alterations increased or decreased utilization of each program; whether the alterations increased or decreased the effectiveness of each program; and whether the alterations accomplished the Department’s goals for each program.

There is a nonprofit organizations navigator in the Department. The Secretary shall designate the navigator. The navigator shall: provide technical assistance to nonprofit organizations in obtaining access to and applying for State grant programs; work with nonprofit organizations and units of State government to resolve procedural complexities and delays in State grant–making processes; collect and share information on opportunities for federal, State, and local grants with nonprofit organizations; and represent nonprofit organizations’ interests and concerns as a member of the Maryland Efficient Grant Application Council established under § 2–209 of the State Finance and Procurement Article.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “Local source” means a business entity that: is headquartered in the State; or has a principal place of business located in the State. “Portal” means the Maryland Local Sourcing Portal. “Tariff–impacted goods” means commodities, supplies, or raw materials identified by the Secretary as subject to federal import duties or trade volatility. The Department shall develop and maintain a searchable online database, to be known as the Maryland Local Sourcing Portal, to connect businesses in the State with local sources for tariff–impacted goods and other supplies. The Portal shall be searchable by North American Industry Classification System codes. The Portal shall comply with: State and federal accessibility standards for digital content; and the data minimization and security standards of the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act. Participation in the Portal by a local source shall be voluntary. The Portal shall enable a local source to list: the categories of supplies or inventory held in the State; and a status indicator signifying that inventory is currently available for purchase. The Portal is not required to display specific quantities or proprietary stock levels. The Department may coordinate with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, the Office of the Comptroller, and the Department of Information Technology to: identify potential local sources for inclusion in the Portal; and leverage existing digital infrastructure to minimize the cost of developing and maintaining the Portal. The State, the Department, and their employees shall be held harmless for any claims, damages, or losses arising from: the accuracy or timeliness of data submitted by a voluntary participant; or any transaction or agreement entered into between private parties using the Portal. On or before December 31 each year, the Department shall report to the General Assembly, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, on the use and effectiveness of the Portal.