Governor Signs Major Economic Development Bond Bill
Governor Healey recently signed An Act Relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership, also known as the Mass Leads Act, an economic development-focused bond bill which includes $3.96 billion in capital programs. Below please find a summary of key items included in the legislation; note that this is a partial summary. The full text of the legislation can be accessed at this link.
The legislation includes, but is not limited to:
Life Sciences:
- Authorizes $500 million over ten years for the "Life Sciences Breakthrough Fund" to reauthorize the Commonwealth’s life sciences initiative. Known as Life Sciences 3.0, the reauthorization adds health equity, biosecurity, digital health, and artificial intelligence to the mission of the Life Sciences Center.
- Increases the annual tax credit authorization for the life sciences industry from $30 million to $40 million.
Climatetech:
- Provides $400 million in capital resources to the MassCEC (Massachusetts Clean Energy Center) to utilize over the next ten years, with $200 million authorized to support innovation and deployment of climatetech technologies and $200 million to support the offshore wind industry.
- Establishes a new tax credit to invest in climatetech companies; a new program housed at MassCEC will develop and expand employment opportunities in climatetech and promote climatetech-related economic development by supporting research, development, innovation, manufacturing, deployment and commercialization in the climatetech sector. The credit will be subject to a $30 million annual cap.
Economic Development Incentive Program (EDIP):
- Makes the program fully refundable.
- Gives municipalities more autonomy by removing the requirement for EACC approval for local awards.
Permitting:
- Includes a two-year Permit Extension Act.
- Ensures that special permits and site plan review approvals are protected from retroactive zoning for the length of the permit.
- Includes a State Permit Regulatory Office, Permit Ombudsman and Regulatory Ombudsman.
Data centers tax credit:
- Creates a new tax credit to attract investment in qualified data centers.
MassWorks:
- $400 million reauthorization for the MassWorks program, which supports public infrastructure improvements.
Artificial Intelligence (AI):
- $100 million for the Applied AI Hub for grants to facilitate the application of artificial intelligence across the state’s ecosystem, which will be informed by the strategic priorities of the AI Strategic Task Force.
Small Business Supports:
- Restructures two quasi-state agencies that are designed to facilitate access to state resources, the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) and Massachusetts Development Finance Agency (MassDevelopment).
- Authorizes a five-year pilot program for the Commonwealth to assist small businesses in acquiring surety bonds. Large capital projects, whether public or private, often require retention of a surety bond by the contractor as financial security. Historically, economically and socially disadvantaged businesses often cannot acquire these bonds because of a lack of credit history or collateral.
Pathway for Foreign-Trained Physicians:
- Creates a pathway in Massachusetts for physicians previously authorized to practice medicine outside the United States to practice in an underserved region of the Commonwealth.
Nurse Licensure Compact:
- Includes a provision to admit Massachusetts in the national nurse licensure compact, intended to help alleviate the workforce challenges facing the health care sector.
Craft Beer at Farmers Markets:
- Updates the law to allow for locally produced craft beer to be sold at farmers markets.
Ticketing Transparency:
- Requires ticket sellers to clearly disclose the actual ticket price when listing tickets online and bans automated ticket purchasing software, otherwise known as bots.
Professional Soccer Stadium and Environmental Cleanup in Everett:
- Allows for the construction of a professional soccer stadium and waterfront park on a parcel of land in Everett by removing the parcel’s classification as a designated port area. Public funding for the construction of the stadium is not allowed, and funding for public infrastructure improvements associated with the stadium would require matching private funds.
Sustainability for Farmers:
- Allows farmers to diversify how they use their farms, including using land for agritourism and selling goods made from produce they have grown themselves.
Click here to access the complete text of the legislation. Note that inclusion in a bond bill does not mean a project or program is imminently due to be funded, only that the administration has the authorization necessary to borrow the funds and utilize those funds for the designated purpose.
| 
