State Developments Snapshot – Issue 94, June 2026

Block Your Calendar: Colorado Hosts Fall SEDE Meeting – 10/15 – 16 (SEDE) The State Economic Development Executives (SEDE) Network is holding its fall meeting for state economic development executives or their top deputy in Denver, Colorado. Eve Lieberman, Executive Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, is excited to bring SEDE executives to the Mile High City with the meeting beginning at 9 am on October 15^th and concluding in the early afternoon of the 16^th with a tour of Colorado industry in the afternoon. More information will be available in the coming weeks.

What Communities Should Know About Data Centers (CREC) The CREC blog highlights the race to build data centers and how the competition is reshaping local economies faster than almost any other real estate trend. The sector is drawing billions in venture capital and now consumes up to eight percent of total U.S. electricity. For local communities, that growth is arriving with both a windfall and a set of tradeoffs: improved fiber and broadband networks, short-term and permanent job gains, and large tax receipts on one side, with infrastructure demands, public health concerns, and general local opposition on the other.

Child Care as Economic Infrastructure (SEDE) Economic development succeeds when talent, capital, and employer demand line up; child care now sits squarely inside that equation. This brief for state economic development leaders shares how child care is increasingly considered economic development infrastructure, not just a social program. Because inadequate access slows growth, these brief offers solutions being implemented by different states such as tax credits or cost-sharing programs, and the implications for state leaders and ideas to finance programs.

Webinar — Assessing State and Local Incentives for Attracting New Energy Investment (RMI) This June webinar was hosted by RMI and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research to share research on the state and local government incentives to attract and grow project-level investment in electricity infrastructure, clean fuels, and new energy technology manufacturing. 

New Resources: State Intel Briefs, Defense Industry Reports, and Issue Briefs (Manufacturing Momentum) CREC’s Manufacturing Momentum network has published numerous resources on defense manufacturing relevant to state leaders:

• State Intelligence Briefs: These briefs were developed to support the DoD Manufacturing Innovation Institutes’ (MIIs) strategy, regional partnership, and defense industrial base engagement. The state level information, investment details, and actionable recommendations are useful for planning and partnership. Thus far, briefs are published for nearly 30 states, with more to come in the coming weeks.
• Biomanufacturing Talent for U.S. National Security & Economic Competitiveness: This workforce report examines the landscape for U.S. biomanufacturing, a DoD Critical Technology Area essential to domestic production of biofuels, bio-based materials, and other defense-critical capabilities. 
• Electronics Talent for U.S. National Security & Economic Competitiveness: This industry report analyzes the workforce underpinning U.S. electronics and semiconductor manufacturing—a sector critical to defense systems ranging from precision munitions and unmanned vehicles to submarine sonar and photonics-enabled targeting. 
• Defense Manufacturing Issue Briefs: This series of 3 briefs are designed to inform local and state government officials, workforce professionals, and manufacturers about important issues that impact their local economy and workforce training.

Incentives Blogs (SEDE) Incentives continues to be an important element of economic development and the SEDE network is excited to share four state incentive blogs, all from Smart Incentives:  

• Smart Incentives: Incentives for Entrepreneurial Firms analyzes state and local incentives for entrepreneurial firms and offers guidance for offering them.
• Ellen Harpel, Randall Bauer, and Joe Buckson: Incentives Best Practices summarizes ten best practices the PFM and Smart Incentives team identified from dozens of state incentive evaluations conducted since 2020. The authors note these practices may need to be weighed against one another and observe that states alone offer more than 2,000 incentive programs costing billions, which is driving more governments to evaluate their portfolios rigorously.
• Smart Incentives: Incentives that Work: A guide for designing and managing effective programs addresses whether incentives work, concluding that they influence business decisions but are not solely responsible for them, and that they generate positive outcomes only with sound program design and implementation. It argues for crafting competitive packages by combining multiple program components and partner offerings, and for shifting from a program-management mindset to an investment-partner one.
• Smart Incentives: Incentives 101 – The Essential Concepts presentation defines different business incentives and identifies six incentive types: financial, tax, regulatory, workforce, site- or zone-based, and services. It closes with four takeaways: incentives should serve economic development goals rather than only winning deals, governments use many incentive types beyond tax breaks, economic developers can adopt procedures for sound decisions, and those procedures help answer whether incentives are working.

How Has Federal Spending on Place-Based Programs Changed Over Time? (Urban Institute) Between 2010 and 2024, federal spending on the country’s largest recurring place-based programs climbed from roughly $44.1 billion to $60.7 billion in inflation-adjusted terms, yet direct program spending fell over that same span. Urban Institute’s report traces this shift across 13 programs and finds that tax expenditures like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Opportunity Zones now account for 84 percent of tracked spending, up from 66 percent in 2010, handing the private sector a larger say in where federal dollars land. If you are deciding whether current funding matches the needs of your community, or you are interested in who now directs these investments, you should read this report.

Analysis of the Manufacturing USA Occupation and Competency Framework (NIST) This analysis describes the most common entry-level occupations in advanced manufacturing across the technology areas associated with the Manufacturing USA network through 2030. This review identifies occupations connected to the knowledge, skills, and abilities that workers need, as of 2025 and into the future, to work with cutting-edge manufacturing technologies across technology areas (biomanufacturing, digital/automation, electronics, energy/processes, materials). The objective of this framework is to provide a common language for and improve collaboration between industry, training providers, and workers.

Ellen McNair, Secretary of Commerce, Alabama Department of Commerce

Vermont Incentive Program Update CREC is proud to have contributed to a meaningful policy outcome in Vermont this summer. On June 8th, Governor Phil Scott signed S.327 into law, permanently extending the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive (VEGI) program. This is the state’s only performance-based business incentive, which had been facing a 2027 sunset. CREC evaluated the program and supported the annual VEPC retreat where the Council invited stakeholders and legislators, helping equip state officials with the evidence and analysis needed to make the case for VEGI’s future. With the sunset repealed, Vermont businesses can now plan with greater certainty, knowing that a proven tool for job creation and business investment will remain available for years to come.

JetZero Expected to Create $250B in Economic Impact for North Carolina (WXII 12) JetZero broke ground on a $4.7 billion manufacturing facility at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, marking the start of a project that promises to create over 14,500 jobs and produce innovative, fuel-efficient aircraft. JetZero’s design for its Z4 aircraft, which will use blended-wing design, is projected to be up to 50% more fuel-efficient than traditional planes. The company aims to have its Z4 aircraft in the sky by the early 2030s.

Utah Launches “Utah Elevated” Strategic Economic Plan (Governor’s Office of Economic Development) The Governor’s Office of Economic Development formally launched the Utah Elevated economic development plan, while also announcing legislation that changes the name of Utah’s economic development office to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and establishes a new statewide Economic Development Council that is central to the Utah Elevated plan. The plan marks a shift to a more coordinated, outbound economic development posture for Utah and GOED. GOED will take a central role in coordinating statewide economic development projects and the plan identifies ways for the state to understand clusters of activity and includes methodology focused on quality of life and broader economic scoring.

Ohio Investing More than $11.7M to Support Communities and Fuel Business Growth (Ohio DED) The Ohio Department of Development announced the release of more than $11.7 million through three state-funded programs that will enhance communities and support business expansion. Of the investments, more than $9 million has been designated to improve community infrastructure through the Roadwork Development Grant (629) Program, which provides funding to local jurisdictions with an economic development project to assist with eligible public roadwork improvements. It also helps employers in creating or preserving employment opportunities. The other funded programs are the 166 Direct Loan Servicing program, which aids businesses that have been previously approved for a loan by the state of Ohio’s Controlling Board, and the Regional 166 Direct Loan program which provides low-interest loans to businesses with limited access to adequate capital from private funding sources.

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