Administrator urges local data collection as governor prepares July 2026 opportunity‑zone selections

Speaker 3 briefed the board on potential opportunity-zone nominations and stressed that this board has no authority to name federal opportunity zones but can help collect and compile the data communities would need to submit to the state. He said the governor will have discretion to nominate a portion of eligible census tracts and that DCEO is waiting on U.S. Treasury guidance that will define eligibility criteria.

The administrator recommended that interested communities gather demographic and investment data and that the county or MCEDC compile a narrative to support nominations. He noted a consultant has produced a draft eligibility map and that NIU or other partners can run means‑test analyses. “We can collect and compile the demographic and economic data… and really kind of tell the story of why this tract is eligible,” he said.

Speaker 3 cautioned that historical tracking of opportunity-zone investment is limited and that new federal reporting requirements may improve oversight going forward. He committed to keep the board informed of DCEO guidance and to coordinate submissions for the governor’s selection process in 2026 if communities wish to proceed.

The board agreed to consider whether each community wants to pursue nominations and to provide data to the administrator for compilation.