relaxed rules for residents of states like Maryland with dysfunctional online health care exchanges, allowing consumers to bypass the exchanges altogether to buy health insurance. Brown led efforts to address health disparities among racial and ethnic groups in Maryland. In 2012, he developed created Health Enterprise Zones, which would use incentives to increase the number of primary care providers and other essential health care services in underserved communities. The goal is to reduce preventable diseases, such as asthma and diabetes. Economic development Brown led the administration's economic development portfolio. He served as chair of numerous economic development initiatives, including the Joint Legislative and Executive Commission on Oversight of Public-Private Partnerships, the Governor's Subcabinet on Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), and the FastTrack initiative – part of Maryland Made Easy (www.easy.maryland.gov) – to streamline the state permitting process for businesses and developers. Public-private partnerships Brown became one of the leading champions for the increased use of public-private partnerships to advance infrastructure projects in Maryland. Governor Martin O'Malley appointed Brown to serve as Chair of the Joint Legislative and Executive Commission on Oversight of Public-Private Partnerships. The fifteen-member Commission was established in 2010 under House Bill 1370 to evaluate the State's framework and oversight of public–private partnerships. Under Brown's leadership, the Commission worked to increase the potential for private investment in public infrastructure projects. The commission submitted its final report to the Governor and General Assembly in January 2012, which included assessing the oversight, best practices, and approval processes for public-private partnerships in other states; evaluating the definition of public-private partnerships; making recommendations concerning the appropriate manner of conducting legislative monitoring and oversight of public-private partnerships; and making recommendations concerning broad policy parameters within which public-private partnerships should be negotiated. Base realignment and closure (BRAC) Brown was tasked by Governor O'Malley to lead the Base Realignment and Closure Subcabinet and the implementation of Maryland's BRAC Plan, which ensured the State of Maryland would be ready for the 28,000 households that came to the state as a result of the BRAC process. It was estimated that between and 45,000 to 60,000 jobs would be created in Maryland by 2016 due to BRAC. Since 2007, the BRAC Subcabinet met regularly with BRAC stakeholders to coordinate and synchronize the State's efforts with public and private partners to address BRAC needs. The BRAC Plan set forth new initiatives and priorities to address the human capital and