In a letter to House Speaker Ron Mariano, D-Quincy, and Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, the Massachusetts Chambers Policy Network, urged the state Legislature to reconvene to pass “critical elements” of the economic development bill “as soon as possible.”
The group, which includes the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, said failure to advance the bill’s key provisions “will hurt the commonwealth’s competitiveness and reputation of effective and responsive policy-making.”
“A narrow bill that focuses on the fundamentals is a significant accomplishment, and we urge the House and Senate to recognize the many similarities and bold policy choices common in both legislative approaches and that have the support of the Healey/Driscoll administration,” the chamber presidents wrote.
The economic development bill would set aside hundreds of millions of dollars in bonding and tax credits to boost the state’s competitiveness. It also would reauthorize the state’s life sciences initiative for another decade and make a parallel investment in climate technology.
It was one of several major pieces of legislation — including plans to lower healthcare costs, improve oversight of hospitals and blunt the impact of climate change — left on the table as lawmakers headed out the door to focus on their reelection campaigns.
The bottleneck of major bills has led to finger-pointing and criticism of the Legislature’s Democratic leadership, whom Republicans and pundits say waited until the July 31 end of formal sessions to rush through major pieces of legislation.
In the letter, chamber leaders said there is “substantial” agreement on the need to boost life sciences programs, tourism, artificial intelligence, scientific research, manufacturing, the MassWorks program, the Mass Impact program, and brownfields development, which are included in the now-stalled bill.
“These programs, many of which provide basic infrastructure support for job growth, are foundational to retaining the Commonwealth’s competitive edge as other cities and states seek to attract jobs and talent,” they wrote. “Importantly, most of these programs drive impact statewide, benefiting people and businesses from the Berkshires to Cape Cod.”
The demand from business leaders adds to mounting pressure on legislative leaders to take up the bill and other unfinished business before the Dec. 31 formal end of the two year legislative session.
Earlier this month, Gov. Maura Healey said the economic development bond money and legislation are “extremely important” to supporting the state’s business industry and boosting its competitiveness. She urged lawmakers to “return as soon as possible” to take up the plan.
Lawmakers can still vote on bills during informal sessions after July 31, but they lack sufficient numbers to challenge any vetoes or amendments. What’s more, debate on legislation taken up during informal sessions can be blocked by objections from any lawmaker.
But proposals that involve spending or borrowing money require roll call votes, where lawmakers register their individual votes. Those votes can only be held in a formal session.
©2024 the Gloucester Daily Times, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
