With the passage of significant economic development and climate legislation this month, the Governor and legislature are putting a bow on a legislative session that will be consequential to the state’s economy for years to come. Bookended by $1B in tax cuts and nearly $10B in bond authorizations for key policy priorities, this legislative session took direct aim at addressing the state’s competitiveness. As part of a statewide business community that has been sounding the alarm on these issues, the Roundtable is grateful to our public leaders for taking action, and for the opportunity to collaborate on these important initiatives.

The state’s competitiveness challenge exists in three areas: the cost of living; cost of doing business; and troubling outmigration trends, particularly of working age adults. The bold and comprehensive legislation that passed this session – on economic development, climate, housing, community college, and early childhood education – will target all three.

The Mass Leads Act (Economic Development Bill) authorizes nearly $4B in capital expenditures to support massive investments in new and existing industries that are, and will, form the foundation of our economy for decades, such as life sciences, climatetech, artificial intelligence, and quantum, along with Main Streets, small businesses, and rural communities.

The transformative Energy and Climate Bill prioritizes clean energy, a pillar of the future of the Massachusetts economy. It also includes major reforms to the energy siting and permitting procedures which are critical to meeting the state’s decarbonization and housing goals, providing another significant economic development opportunity for the Commonwealth.

Earlier this session, the Affordable Homes Act was passed into law, providing more than $5B and nearly 50 policy initiatives to address the high cost of housing by unlocking housing production, boosting programs for first-time homebuyers, and providing the resources necessary to increase housing supply across the income spectrum.
The FY25 budget also included a series of game-changing investments and policy changes aimed to eliminate barriers and help untapped talent gain skills and access the workforce, such as free community college, historic investments in early childhood education, and an innovative new public-private partnership to address access and quality of child-care.

And there are many more.

Much of this progress happened in partnership with the business community. The Mass Leads Act is a product of the Economic Development Planning Council. The Siting and Permitting reform provisions emerged from the work of the Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting. The Affordable Homes Act Steering Committee helped develop and advocate for the final housing legislation. The Free Community College Advisory Committee offered recommendations which informed MassReconnect and MassEducate. And the new early childhood public-private partnership was developed by the Roundtable and our partners at the Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education. In each of these instances, the Roundtable, along with other business leaders, worked side-by-side with policymakers and other stakeholders on transformative solutions to address the state’s competitiveness.

This is by no means a “mission accomplished” moment. There is still a great deal of work to be done to make Massachusetts more affordable and position the state to thrive and win in an increasingly competitive national and global market. There are statewide challenges, a shifting federal landscape, and geopolitical pressures that will require our collective and urgent attention. However, the Healey-Driscoll Administration, the House, and the Senate deserve recognition for what was accomplished this session. Historic and transformative investments were made in areas fundamental to Massachusetts’ short- and long-term economic competitiveness.

It is now incumbent on the business community to work in partnership with government to implement these laws, collectively build upon the momentum of this session, and carry it into 2025 as we continue to address the state’s competitiveness challenges. The Roundtable is energized and ready to do so in the next legislative session.