State House plans monument to honor Black soldiers

Good morning Baltimore and happy Fri-yay.

As we jump into another long weekend, please keep those of us fighting for fantasy football trophies in your prayers. BBJ's Garrett Dvorkin (reporter), Phil Davis (special projects editor) and yours truly (digital producer/poet) are all competing for the title in our respective leagues.

While New Year's Eve is a festive occasion for many, us fantasy managers will be obsessively refreshing our sports apps and pacing while the ball drops.

We here at BBJ HQ wish you a wonderful New Year and victory in fantasy football!

Now for the news.

State House plans monument honoring Black Revolutionary soldiers

The Maryland State House will have a new monument in the coming years as the 250th anniversary of America's founding approaches. Maryland Matters reports that the State House Trust has approved a statue to honor Black soldiers who served in the Revolutionary War, based on a proposal by a history professor from Stevenson University. The monument is still in the planning process and is without a timeline or exact design so far, per Maryland Matters. The project will go where one of Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney sat until its removal in 2017. It would be another addition to the renovations happening across the State House grounds.

Minimum wage bump to take effect in 2024

When Marylanders slog back into their places of work on Tuesday, the state will have a new minimum wage. Maryland will become the next state to enforce a $15 minimum wage, effective on Jan. 1, 2024 (or, as it is colloquially referred to as, New Year's Day). The increase comes from a bill Gov. Wes Moore signed in the spring to speed up the minimum wage timeline to hit $15 per hour by 2024 instead of 2025. Maryland is just one of many states giving workers a boost in 2024, as The Business Journals has reported in a neat roundup. Washington state leads the way, as minimum wage (pegged to inflation in the state) will increase to $16.28 in 2024.

Where you need to make at least $200K to afford a home in Baltimore

Mortgage rates have been dropping in recent weeks, but that's only slightly improving affordability in many Greater Baltimore neighborhoods. Greater Baltimore — defined here as Baltimore City plus Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Harford and Howard counties — has 11 ZIP codes where it takes at least $200,000 in annual income to afford a median-priced home, according to an analysis of data from Zillow Group Inc. and RocketMortgage by The Business Journals. Learn where it takes the most to buy a home in the region.

The 2023-2024 Baltimore Book of Lists is on its way

The Baltimore Business Journal's annual Book of Lists is headed out to mailboxes today, giving readers an in-depth look into many of the underlying statistics that drive business in Greater Baltimore and Maryland. The book aims to provide a one-stop shop for people interested in learning more about the area's largest and fastest-growing businesses, our Phil Davis writes. This year's theme is "growth" which is embodied by photos of Maryland's various ties to the agricultural industry — still the state's largest commercial sector. Read more about the book — and learn how to get your hands on a copy for a late holiday gift.

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Maryland releases climate plan to reach net-zero 2045

The Maryland Department of the Environment released a nearly 100-page report Thursday detailing policies to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reach climate goals over the next two decades. While I did not read the entire report, I perused the executive summary. Some top line details: By 2031, Maryland must slash emissions by 60% based on 2006 emissions and reach net zero by 2045. To do so, the report says the state will need an estimated $1 billion of additional public spending per year, including incentives for electric vehicles, home electrification projects, green infrastructure like energy-efficient commercial buildings and EV chargers and funds for land and natural resource management.

IRS offers deal to business owners who wrongly claimed pandemic tax credit

The Internal Revenue Service gave employers an early Christmas gift last week, offering amnesty to those who mistakenly or deliberately claimed the pandemic employee retention tax credit (ERC). The IRS is giving employers until March 22, 2024 to file with the agency's Voluntary Disclosure Program, which will let employers off the hook for any penalties related to ERC fraud if the filer repays 80% of what they wrongfully accepted in ERC funds. Aside from flat-out fraud, the program is meant to help those who were convinced by "aggressive marketing" to file for incorrect ERC money, the IRS announcement reads.

Orioles succession plan up in the air over conflicting views

The Orioles are staying in town, we found out this month, for somewhere between 15 and 30 years. The low end is likely if the state and the team can't come to an agreement on development rights around the stadium. But there's another question mark in the near future: What happens when 94-year-old Orioles owner Peter Angelos dies? He wants the team to be sold, but his son and chairman of the team John Angelos wants otherwise. The Wall Street Journal dove into the factors that will come to bear on the Orioles' leadership team in the years ahead: lawsuits, development rights and family feuds off the field, all coming "at a time when the Orioles appear to be entering a golden era on it."

Property values make biggest jump in a decade

The 2024 reassessment of about a third of Maryland's property values has yielded a big boost — 23%, to be exact — across the board, the Banner reports. That's a good thing for investors, property owners and homeowners in terms of asset value, but the jump also means higher taxes and home prices beyond the reach of first-time buyers in many cases. The 23% figure came from a nearly 26% bump in residential prices and an 18% bump in commercial property values, according to the State Department of Assessments and Taxation. Residential properties in Somerset County increased by more than 50% and commercial ones in Worcester rose by more than 32% since 2021's reassessment. Though state law limits the allowable property tax increases to 10%, read about the financial implications of the reassessment here.

Questions or comments about today's newsletter? Reach out to BBJ Digital Producer Joe Ilardi at [email protected].