DCED Acting Secretary Dennis Davin, right, testifies before the House Appropriations Committee concerning the department’s 2015-16 budget.

Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) Acting Secretary Dennis Davin told the House Appropriations Committee that the Made in Pennsylvania Job Creation program will create good-paying jobs for Pennsylvanians.

Davin said Made in PA would provide a $5 million tax credit for manufacturers, who are growing their businesses, and $5 million for research universities to advance manufacturing technology and commercialization. Davin testified today before a packed house on the department’s proposed 2015-16 fiscal year budget.

“Manufacturing has been the heart and soul of many communities,” Davin testified during his opening comments on DCED’s proposed 2015-16 fiscal budget. “Governor Wolf’s budget builds on that Pennsylvania tradition to create new, good-paying jobs through establishing this program.”

Davin said the manufacturing program would provide incentives to manufacturers who grow their payrolls by $1 million in a calendar year, and another $5 million would leverage the talent of research universities to advance manufacturing technology through the state’s Industrial Resource Centers.

Davin also highlighted a $675 million investment program designed to support economic development initiatives that leverage private sector funds to create jobs.

“This funding will support programs including the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority for business development loans,” Davin said, “and the Business in Our Sites program to allow us to compete for business expansions and relocations, energy investment, and technology investments to support entrepreneurs, established companies and manufacturing innovation.”

Throughout the hearing there was support by House members for the need to improve marketing Pennsylvania as a tourist destination.

“We are directing more dollars toward tourism,” Davin said. “I’ve heard directly from the governor that he is sick of hearing (other state’s) ads that promote their tourism.”

Davin said there is a public/private partnership initiative, which is being incubated at Team Pennsylvania Foundation, to strengthen the commonwealth’s tourism industry.

“I’ve come to learn in the short amount of time that I’ve been at DCED just how big the tourism industry is in Pennsylvania,” Davin said. “Pennsylvania has a great story to tell and we have an opportunity to tell that story in a much bigger way.”

In addition Davin reaffirmed that DCED will seek opportunities to seek new international markets through its World Trade PA program.