BOSTON – Late last week, area senators touted the State Senate’s vote to pass a sweeping economic development bill, including bill author Senator Eric P. Lesser of the First Hampden and Hampshire District. The bond bill boosts support for Massachusetts startups and entrepreneurs, and authorizes targeted investments in infrastructure and worker retraining.
The bill, S. 2625 An Act relative to economic development in the Commonwealth, authorizes $75 million in competitive grants for technical education and workforce training programs and $200 million in bonds to the MassWorks Infrastructure Program that will support thousands of jobs in economic development and community revitalization projects, according to Sen. Lesser’s release.
The technical education grants will provide funding for new lab equipment in classrooms across the state, allowing for new programs in robotics and other high-tech vocational fields. The bill also invests in the state’s cultural economy, promoting the arts and tourism industries.
“This legislation will nurture and support economic growth in the Berkshires and across western Mass.,” said State Senator Adam G. Hinds of the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden district in his announcement. “It makes key investments in infrastructure, maintains the Commonwealth’s economic strength and encourages innovation and entrepreneurship.”
During the debate Senator Hinds sponsored and secured the adoption of several amendments which authorize a total of $12 million in capital spending authorizations for projects that will encourage economic development.
These include $75,000 for the Gateway Hilltowns Visitors Center in Chester, a landing point for first-time Hilltown visitors, families looking for recreational opportunities, local businesses seeking a marketing opportunity, and a resource to spur economic development. The Visitors Center will be managed and operated by the Historic Route 20 Association.
The bill also includes an important authorization for town-owned broadband networks to provide internet services to neighboring communities.
This provision, sponsored by Hinds, was included in the Governor’s economic development bill but removed by the House of Representatives. Hinds’ amendment restores the Governor’s language, thereby enabling municipal broadband networks that received a grant from the state to expand their broadband service into neighboring towns.
“This is a common sense technical change that provides another tool in our toolbox to ensure universal broadband access across western Mass.,” said Hinds. “If a town-owned broadband network has both the will and the ability to offer its services to a neighboring community, I see no reason to restrict that partnership.”
Blandford is among the 16 towns in Hinds’ district that have received direct grants from the Executive Office of Housing & Economic Development (EOHED) to build a municipally-owned broadband district.
On Wednesday, Senator Donald F. Humason announced that the Senate had just voted to have a 2018 sales tax holiday on the weekend of August 11 and 12. The 2018 sales tax holiday was added as an amendment to the economic bond bill.
Katherine Cole, Sen. Humason’s Director of Communications said following the Senate’s passage of the bond bill, a conference committee has to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The conference committee will then need to issue a conference report, which the House and Senate must vote to accept. Once they both accept the conference report, the bill will move to the Governor’s desk for him to sign. This process must be completed before the end of formal business for the legislative session on July 31 at midnight.
Bond bills are different from budget bills, in that a capital spending authorization is not an earmark and does not guarantee funding will be received. However, a legislative spending authorization for a project in a bond bill is important, as it signifies the project is a priority and is eligible to receive funding from the state’s annual capital spending plan. However, unlike the state budget, the capital plan is entirely developed and managed by the Administration, and not every bond bill spending authorization will be programmed into the capital plan during the life of the bond bill.
