A new report out Monday makes the case that state lawmakers must act soon to finish up work on major economic development legislation that’s been on ice for nearly two months, or risk sending the wrong message to employers and workers.
The report, published by the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, says that letting the bill continue to linger “makes the case for attracting people and investment to Massachusetts even tougher.”
Doug Howgate, the foundation’s president, said lawmakers could make an important point about their ability to deliver on shared priorities by passing the bill in the next few weeks.
“I think that the next three or four weeks are going to be critical in making sure we have our economic development plan in place so that it can be deployed this fiscal year and not run into other factors that we can’t even envision right now that could further delay it,” Howgate told GBH News.
The multibillion dollar bill would authorize the state to borrow money to make new investments in key economic sectors like the life sciences, climate technology and artificial intelligence.
Formal legislative sessions ended for the two-year term on July 31, and lawmakers left several high-profile bills unfinished. The House and the Senate will continue to meet for the rest of the year in informal sessions, which are more sparsely attended and operate under different rules, allowing any single legislator’s objection to block a bill from advancing.
The two chambers have managed to pass some closely watched legislation since formal sessions ended, including a maternal health package and a bill granting Boston 225 new liquor licenses, but the economic development bill faces a steeper climb.
Bills that authorize borrowing can only be voted on in formal sessions. Both House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka said in August that they’re willing to call a special formal session to finish the bill.
Mariano, though, suggested that he’s waiting on a final bill that “fully invests in the life sciences sector.” That’s a main point of disagreement between the House and Senate — the Senate’s bill would steer less money to the life sciences, and over a shorter period of time.
“We want a bill that’s not only going to be good for the next year but good for the next five to 10 years.”Andover Democrat Sen. Barry Finegold, the lead Senate negotiator, on WCVB
The new report encourages lawmakers to go with the larger, longer authorization favored by the House and the Healey administration.
“One of the things that Massachusetts has really used to set itself apart from other regions in recent years is the success of our life sciences sector,” Howgate said. “Going forward, we also want to make sure that we have similar success in areas like climate tech and artificial intelligence and things like that. This bill includes major areas that if we don’t act on them, the clock is ticking, and other regions, other states, absolutely are being proactive in each of those areas.”
The lead Senate negotiator on the stalled economic development bill, Andover Democrat Sen. Barry Finegold, lately has been predicting that the two sides will reach a deal in a matter of weeks.
“I actually think in the next few weeks, I think we’ll get something done,” Finegold said in a WCVB interview that aired Sunday.
“Understand that we are spending billions of dollars, and with the revenues that we’ve seen the last couple months it’s been dicey, so we want to get this right,” he continued. “And we want a bill that’s not only going to be good for the next year but good for the next five to 10 years, because the one thing we do need to be is fiscally responsible, prudent, and making sure that we’re thinking long-term and strategic.”
Under the timelines envisioned by Finegold and Howgate, a compromise bill could emerge sometime in October. That would give state legislators a chance to tout their local earmarks and any policy wins in the final stretch of campaign season before November’s election.
It’s the second session in a row that lawmakers have let an economic development bill — traditionally considered a must-pass item — languish into the fall. In 2022, when a tax break plan became the main sticking point, House and Senate lawmakers reached agreement and passed a final bill on Nov. 3, five days before the election that would usher in Maura Healey as the state’s next governor.
Healey, now in the corner office, said in August that the bill is essential for the state’s economic growth and that she was “imploring the Senate and House to return as soon as possible and work together with me and my team to get this done.”
Earlier this month she said she was “hopeful we’ll get an economic development bill soon.”
