BOSTON — The House plans to vote Wednesday on a $425.1 million economic development package that carries over some of Gov. Maura Healey’s priorities while adding a slew of new housing- and transportation-related policy ideas.
The House Ways and Means Committee polled a new version (H 5562) of the bill that Healey filed in response to heightened competition in some of the state’s most prized industries, and leadership said the plan is to take it up in a formal session Wednesday.
Economic development bills are a regular feature of July during even-numbered years on Beacon Hill, but this time around lawmakers only need to get it into conference committee talks by July 31 rather than trying to pass a compromise version by then. Healey, who stands for reelection this fall, is likely eager for a bill to reach her desk sooner rather than later.
“The reforms included in this bill will help to expand the Commonwealth’s housing supply, safeguard critical institutions and jobs, attract new investments, and position Massachusetts for long-term economic success. We look forward to discussing these important investments and reforms with the Membership over the coming days, and to passing this legislation on Wednesday,” House Speaker Ron Mariano and Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz said in a joint statement.
The Ways and Means Committee redraft maintains the $305 million in borrowing authorizations (and some offsetting deauthorizations) Healey originally proposed and adds $120 million in funding for various housing grants including: $50 million for grants and technical assistance for municipalities for converting commercial properties to residential units; $50 million for supporting remediation related to the transformation of former state-owned buildings into housing; and $20 million for a veterans housing initiative. The committee also added a $100,000 line item for local economic development grants.
Leadership said the bill allows multifamily housing as of right on land owned by religious institutions for the first time, a step intended “to ease the housing crisis and increase development.” It also supports the conversion of commercial properties into new multifamily and mixed-use housing, and streamlines local zoning and permitting processes.
The House Ways and Means proposal would also expand the allowable uses of the state’s Federal Matching and Debt Reduction Fund, funded with interest skimmed off the Stabilization Fund, including to support hospitals and community health centers; dedicate $200 million in bridge funding for public and private nonprofit colleges and universities for research, workforce development, and innovation; and restructure LLC filing fees.
Though the House seems poised to preserve all of Healey’s requested bond authorizations, representatives are not going along with all of the governor’s ideas.
Notably, Healey’s proposed “GlobalMass” initiative was left out by both the Ways and Means Committee and Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. The initiative – which Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley has said is the bill’s centerpiece – sought to attract global investment and support international companies in the state. Healey’s proposal would have directed the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board to provide at least $50 million for a new fund meant to draw global capital.
Both Healey’s proposal and the Ways and Means Committee’s redraft include a $20 million capital authorization for grants “to support the construction, fit-out, and improvement of one or more sites where early-stage and high-growth business ventures are encouraged to establish operations in the commonwealth” and a requirement that they be awarded in “a manner that promotes geographic equity.”
The draft advancing in the House also excludes a so-called “Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act” that the Economic Development Committee had added to its version of the bill. That provision would have added transparency and incident reporting obligations for AI frontier developers.
Additionally, the House Ways and Means Committee nixed a proposed consortium located within the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security that would be tasked with creating “MassCompute,” a “public cloud computing cluster” which boosts the use and creation of AI that supports research and innovation that benefits the public and expands access to computational resources for more “equitable innovation,” according to the bill text. Representatives also cut a proposed social worker licensure compact that counterparts on the Economic Development Committee had tacked onto Healey’s proposal.
The Ways and Means Committee bill includes many policies that differ from both Healey’s proposal and the 150-page version the Economic Development Committee had advanced.
Among the policies the Ways and Means Committee added is language similar to a bill Healey unveiled in May (S 3077) that aims to regulate “micromobility” devices like e-bikes, scooters and mopeds through a “speed-based framework.” The bill has been sitting in the Committee on Transportation since May.
Additionally, the Ways and Means Committee added language allowing the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to create a “Massachusetts Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Institute” located at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Among the institute’s tasks would be working with other private higher education institutions and the University of Massachusetts to “coordinate and strengthen hydrogen and fuel cell research activities,” and boosting partnerships among universities and companies to demonstrate fuel cell technologies and attract more federal funding.
MassCEC could also allocate up to $2 million to the institute annually for five years. Also, MassCEC could create an Entrepreneurial Fellowship Program that awards grants to business owners outside the “climatetech” sectors.
MassCEC would also serve as a “focal point” and help with statewide coordination for offshore wind projects under the Ways and Means draft.
A law Healey signed in September 2024 lets her administration leverage hundreds of millions of dollars in Stabilization Fund interest for grant-matching purposes, as well as to pay down state debt, through the Commonwealth Federal Matching and Debt Reduction Fund.
The House Ways and Means Committee is proposing in its economic development bill to expand the permitted uses of that fund to also include “protecting the commonwealth from the elimination, reduction or material delay of federal funds,” improving the financial stability of hospitals and community health centers including by transferring money in the fund to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund, and “funding pay-as-you-go capital for any capital project or program” that was authorized in the 2024 economic development bill.
With new purposes, the fund would also get a new name: the Commonwealth Federal Matching, Fiscal Resilience and Debt Reduction Fund.
The Ways and Means version also tasks the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities to create a training program for members of local planning boards, special permit granting groups and zoning boards of appeals to offer education and self-evaluation. The program would be offered at no cost to cities and towns and must cover: special permits, subdivision control, fair housing, variances and “any other laws that govern the role and responsibility of the local planning board,” according to the bill text.
Colin A. Young contributed to this report.
Katie Castellani is a reporter for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro. Reach her at kcastellani@statehousenews.com.