Washington D.C. - U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) today introduced two measures designed to help reverse the devastating effects of population decline and economic hardships faced by Maine workers and businesses in Aroostook County. The first bill would promote economic development opportunities for the people of Aroostook County by extending the Empowerment Zone status to cover the entire region.
“The challenges confronted by Aroostook County are significant, but not insurmountable,” said Snowe and Collins in a joint statement. “We urge our colleagues to support this legislation that is vital to improving the economic welfare of rural America. By applying the Empowerment Zone program to all of Aroostook County in Maine, we are affording all businesses and workers in this distressed area the opportunity to develop economically and thrive in the future.”
In January 2002, Aroostook County was designated an Empowerment Zone based on its population losses. The current zone boundaries were chosen based on the criteria that Empowerment Zones be no larger than 1,000 square miles, and have a maximum population of 30,000 for rural areas. The Snowe-Collins legislation recognizes that economic hardship and population out-migration are issues that affect the entire region and the legislation would improve the economic opportunities to extend to all of Aroostook County.
The second bill would give Empowerment Zone communities already taking advantage of the Program’s special tax incentives a full fifteen years to secure targeted growth. In 1994, Congress set a fifteen-year time frame for the expiration of tax incentives for the newly-created Empowerment Zone regions. The 2009 expiration date of Empowerment Zone status was held firm for Round II communities designated in 1997, and the Round III communities designated in 2002. Therefore, Round II communities such as Aroostook County were given as few as seven years to use tax incentives to stem decades of decline and economic neglect.
“We must recognize the urgency of making a long-term pledge to communities using Empowerment Zone incentives by offering sufficient time to develop and achieve goals,” said Snowe and Collins. “By offering all Empowerment Zone regions the full fifteen years to enhance community development, we are providing areas such as Aroostook County the tools and time they require to reach their full potential. This provision is essential to stabilizing economic development in rural Maine and across the country.”
To qualify for Empowerment Zone status, communities must develop comprehensive strategic plans that depend on these tax incentives to help them transform their economies. Businesses operating within Empowerment Zones receive a 20 percent wage credit for the first $15,000 they pay in wages to local residents. Other tax incentives encourage businesses and industries to further commit to these communities.
In 2002, Aroostook County was designated an Empowerment Zone based on its population losses, and at that time the community formed the Aroostook Partnership for Progress to spearhead its Empowerment Zone strategy, initiatives, and projects. Since its formation, the Partnership for Progress has created an estimated 1,500 new jobs and negotiated more than $1.2 million dollars worth of investments for Aroostook County.