Secretary: Climate Tech Will Feature In Healey Economic Development Bill

The Haley administration is working on an economic development bill to introduce in the new year and "lay the groundwork for 2024," Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Howe said Wednesday, expecting a focus on technology climate change.

A top priority for House and Senate Democrats in the first seven months of 2024 is the governor's bond bill. July 31st counts until their regular meeting.

In the year The most recent economic development package, signed into law in 2022, pumped $3.7 billion into the Massachusetts economy — though it took nearly 100 days to come together and implement the tax cuts and reforms lawmakers requested. Later. .

"We've started working with lawmakers and A&F, administration and finance to get the bill done," Howe said during an appearance at the 2023 Boston Globe meeting with reporter John Chesto. "We want to start work in 2024 and come back in the new year to introduce the legislation and hopefully get it passed by the end of the legislative term in July.

The bond bill goes along with the administration's economic development plan, which the state must prepare every four years, Howe said. The minister said that the council that prepared the plan held regional meetings with about 1,300 members of society in the region. He said the plan should be submitted to the legislature and the governor by the end of the year.

"This is an opportunity for us to develop a strategy for our country, which is why we are digging deep and working on it now," said Howe.

He announced that growing the climate technology industry will be a major part of the plan and bond bill presented by the administration.

"We want to be a leader in the fight against climate change, and at the same time we want to be a leader in the economic development of climate technology," said Hao. "I think a lot about what's happening in the life sciences. These two industries are similar in many ways. They use our ecosystem and we have all the components here in all our laboratories and our diverse talent."

"We had all the elements in the life sciences and then the government during the previous governor's time: let's speed it up," the secretary continued. Let's collect resources and implement them. Let's do $1 billion over 10 years, get the message out, coordinate the rules, and make sure we're here to accelerate the formation of this group.

In June, Gov. Maura Haley pledged to continue the massive investment in the life sciences sector that began under Patrick, making Massachusetts a national and global leader in biotechnology and medical technology production.

Huey said the administration could use "some of the same benefits" by pouring resources and changing regulations to help the climate technology industry grow in the state and create a "climate technology cluster."

"I think we already have a model," he said.

But while the administration is looking at future economic development strategies, the legislature is still negotiating the remaining work from the latest economic growth package.

An economic development bill aimed at helping residents struggling with the high cost of living was included in the tax cuts proposed by former Governor Charlie Baker last summer.

The final version of the bill Baker signed last fall eliminated the tax reform measures from the government's unexpected tax relief for taxpayers. The House and Senate have reauthorized tax cut packages this year, but disagreements among Democrats have stalled the plans since June.

Howe said Wednesday that those tax cuts — particularly the business cuts proposed by Haley, which are at the heart of negotiators' disagreements — are important to the state's competitiveness and growing economy.

The Minister said that the competitiveness of the region has decreased after a new surcharge was imposed on the high income earners of the region. Last November, voters approved a "fair" constitutional amendment that added an additional 4% tax on annual incomes, which Haley supported.

"We have some challenges in terms of visibility and perception of the fair share problem," Howe said. "There are some people, I don't like them, but they say, "Oh, Massachusetts is going back to Texas. I think we're going to number 47."

A recent CNBC study ranked Massachusetts 49th in the cost of doing business, he added.

As the state's competitiveness and affordability continue to decline, Howe said it's important to implement tax cuts that encourage businesses to move to and stay in the state.

This includes Haley's proposal to cut the short-term capital gains tax rate from 12% to 5%—supported by the House but not the Senate—and raise the wealth tax rate.

Howe cited statistics that suggest an average of 1,100 residents will leave Massachusetts each week by 2022. "I'm concerned these numbers could be the same or worse" by 2023, he said.

"We're trying to be competitive and prove to voters and all kinds of families that this is a state that's really trying to do the right thing," he said. "We're going to invest our fair share in all kinds of things that help families and businesses, and by the way, we're going to make some adjustments to make sure we're competitive and a great place to raise a family. Start a business: That's why we want to get something going this fall."

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