HOUSE . . . . . . . No. 4789
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, June 24, 2024.
The committee on Ways and Means, to whom was referred the Bill
relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership (House, No.
4722), reports recommending that the same ought to pass with an
amendment substituting therefor the accompanying bill (House, No. 4789)
[Bond Issue: General Obligation Bonds: $2,860,000,000.00].
For the committee,
AARON MICHLEWITZ.
 FILED ON: 6/24/2024
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4789
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership.
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to
forthwith finance improvements to the commonwealth’s economic infrastructure, drive industry
innovation, and promote economic opportunity and job creation, therefore it is hereby declared
to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. To provide for a program of community development, economic
2 opportunities, support for local governments, increased industry innovation, job creation and the
3 promotion of economic reinvestment through the funding of infrastructure improvements the
4 sums set forth in sections 2 to 2C, inclusive, for the several purposes and subject to the
5 conditions specified in this act, are hereby made available, subject to the laws regulating the
6 disbursement of public funds. These sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously
7 authorized and made available for the purposes of those items. The sums set forth in sections 2 to
8 2B, inclusive, shall be made available until June 30, 2029. The sums set forth in section 2C shall
9 be made available until June 30, 2034.
10 SECTION 2.
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11 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
12 Office of the Secretary
13 7002-1352 For a grant program to coastal communities to be administered by the
14 seaport economic council established by Executive Order No. 564; provided, that funding shall
15 be used for community planning and investment activities that stimulate economic development
16 and create jobs in the maritime economy sector, and to construct, improve, repair, maintain and
17 protect coastal assets that are vital to achieving these goals; and provided further, that the
18 planning, prioritization, selection and implementation of projects shall consider climate change
19 impacts in furtherance of the goals of climate change mitigation and adaptation consistent with
20 the integrated state hazard mitigation and climate change adaptation plan................ $100,000,000
21 7002-1522 For grants administered by Massachusetts Technology Development
22 Corporation established in section 2 of chapter 40G of the General Laws, and doing business as
23 MassVentures; provided, that such grants shall be made on a competitive basis to growing
24 Massachusetts-based companies commercializing technologies developed with assistance of a
25 Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer grant from a federal
26 agency, including, but not limited to, the United States Department of Defense, the United States
27 Department of Energy or the National Science Foundation…………….…………….$25,000,000
28 7002-1523 For grants administered by Massachusetts Technology Development
29 Corporation established in section 2 of chapter 40G of the General Laws, and doing business as
30 MassVentures; provided, that such grants shall be made on a competitive basis to Massachusetts-
31 based companies in support of agricultural biotechnology or non-therapeutic biomanufacturing
32 technologies developed with assistance of a Small Business Innovation Research or Small
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33 Business Technology Transfer grant from a federal agency, including, but not limited to, the
34 United States Department of Energy, the United States Department of Agriculture, the United
35 States Food and Drug Administration or the National Science Foundation……..…....$5,000,000
36 7002-8003 For the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation established in section
37 3 of chapter 40J of the General Laws for matching grants that support agricultural biotechnology
38 or non-therapeutic biomanufacturing among private entities, institutions of higher education,
39 non-profits and other public or quasi-public entities located in the commonwealth; provided, that
40 grants shall be awarded and administered consistent with the strategic goals and priorities of the
41 Massachusetts advanced manufacturing collaborative established in section 10B of chapter 23A
42 of the General Laws; and provided further, that grants shall be awarded in a manner that
43 promotes geographic, social and economic equity………………………….…………$5,000,000
44 7002-8039 For the Scientific and Technology Research and Development Matching
45 Grant Fund established in section 4G of chapter 40J of the General Laws……….......$95,000,000
46 7002-8044 For a program to be administered by the Massachusetts Development
47 Finance Agency for site assembly, site assessment, predevelopment permitting and other
48 predevelopment and marketing activities that enhance a site’s readiness for commercial,
49 industrial or mixed-use development; provided, that a portion of the funds may be used to
50 facilitate the expansion or replication of successful industrial parks and to support the
51 revitalization of downtown centers…………………………………………................ $3,000,000
52 7002-8046 For the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation established pursuant to
53 section 2 of chapter 40W of the General Laws for a program to provide matching grants to
54 community development financial institutions certified by the United States Treasury or
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55 community development corporations certified under chapter 40H of the General Laws to enable
56 them to leverage federal or private investments for the purpose of making loans to small
57 businesses; provided, that such programs shall prioritize socially or economically disadvantaged
58 businesses, which may include, but shall not be limited to, minority-owned, women-owned,
59 veteran-owned or immigrant-owned small businesses, that have historically faced obstacles to
60 accessing capital……………………………………………………………................ $35,000,000
61 7002-8053 For the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund established in section 29A of
62 chapter 23G of the General Laws……………………………………….…................ $30,000,000
63 7002-8054 For the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation established in section 2
64 of chapter 40W of the General Laws, in consultation with the microbusiness development center
65 within the Massachusetts office of business development, to provide grants to low- and
66 moderate-income entrepreneurs to acquire, expand, improve or lease a facility, to purchase or
67 lease equipment or to meet other capital needs of a business with not more than 20 employees
68 and annual revenues not exceeding $2,500,000, including alternative energy generation projects;
69 provided, that preference shall be given to businesses located in low-income or moderate-income
70 areas or socially or economically disadvantaged businesses, which shall include, but shall not be
71 limited to, minority-owned, women-owned, immigrant-owned or veteran-owned businesses; and
72 provided further, that grants shall be awarded in a manner that promotes geographic
73 equity…………………………………………………………………..........................$10,000,000
74 7002-8056 For a competitive grant program administered by the office of travel and
75 tourism; provided, that funds may be used to improve facilities and destinations visited by in-
76 state and out-of-state travelers to increase visitation, entice repeat visitation and promote the
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77 direct and indirect economic impacts of the tourism industry in all regions of the commonwealth;
78 provided further, that grants shall support the design, repair, renovation, improvement, expansion
79 and construction of facilities owned by municipalities or non-profit entities; provided further,
80 that in evaluating grant applications, priority shall be given to projects located in state-designated
81 cultural districts and projects that promote nature-based, agricultural and other forms of rural
82 tourism; provided further, that all grantees to improve facilities and destinations visited by in-
83 state and out-of-state travelers shall provide a match based on a graduated formula determined by
84 the office of travel and tourism; provided further, that grant recipients shall be required to
85 measure and report on return-on-investment data after the expenditure of grant funds; provided
86 further, that grants shall be awarded in a manner that promotes geographic equity; and provided
87 further, that a portion of the funding may be used to make capital investments that support the
88 commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States…...... $40,000,000
89 7002-8057 For the Commonwealth Zoological Corporation established in section 2 of
90 chapter 92B of the General Laws, for costs associated with the preparation of plans, studies and
91 specifications, repairs, construction, renovations, improvements, maintenance, asset management
92 and demolition and other capital improvements including those necessary for the operation of
93 facilities operated by Zoo New England, including the Franklin Park Zoo and the Walter D.
94 Stone Memorial Zoo…………………………………………………….…................ $15,000,000
95 7002-8058 For the Massachusetts Broadband Incentive Fund established in section
96 6C of chapter 40J of the General Laws, for capital repairs and improvements to broadband
97 infrastructure owned by the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation established in section 3
98 of chapter 40J………………………………………………………….…................$10,000,000
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 99 7002-8059 For the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation established in section
100 3 of chapter 40J of the General Laws for grant programs that support collaboration among
101 manufacturers located in the commonwealth and institutions of higher education, non-profits or
102 other public or quasi-public entities; provided, that eligible grantees shall include, but not be
103 limited to, participants in the Manufacturing USA institutes, public and private academic
104 institutions, non-profits and private business entities; provided further, that grant programs
105 funded from this item shall consider the strategic goals and priorities of the Massachusetts
106 advanced manufacturing collaborative established in section 10B of chapter 23A of the General
107 Laws; and provided further, that grants shall be awarded in a manner that promotes geographic,
108 social, racial, and economic equity……………………………………………….…...$99,000,000
109 7002-8061 For the MassWorks infrastructure program established in section 63 of
110 chapter 23A of the General Laws…………………………………………................$400,000,000
111 7002-8062 For a program to provide assistance to projects that will improve,
112 rehabilitate or redevelop blighted, abandoned, vacant or underutilized properties to achieve the
113 public purposes of eliminating blight, increasing housing production, supporting economic
114 development projects, increasing the number of commercial buildings accessible to persons with
115 disabilities and conserving natural resources through the targeted rehabilitation and reuse of
116 vacant and underutilized property; provided, that such assistance shall take the form of a grant or
117 a loan provided to a municipality or other public entity, a community development corporation,
118 non-profit entity or for-profit entity; provided further, that eligible uses of funding shall include,
119 but not be limited to: (i) improvements and additions to or alterations of structures and other
120 facilities necessary to comply with requirements of building, fire or other life safety codes and
121 regulations pertaining to accessibility for persons with disabilities, where such code or regulatory
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122 compliance is required in connection with a new commercial, residential or civic use of such
123 structure or facility; and (ii) the targeted removal of existing underutilized structures or facilities
124 to create or activate publicly-accessible recreational or civic spaces; provided further, that
125 financial assistance offered pursuant to this line item may be administered by the executive
126 office of economic development through a contract with the Massachusetts Development
127 Finance Agency established in section 2 of chapter 23G of the General Laws; provided further,
128 that the executive office or the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency may establish
129 additional program requirements through regulations or policy guidelines; provided further, that
130 funding shall be awarded on a competitive basis in accordance with such program requirements;
131 provided further, that financial assistance offered pursuant to this item shall be awarded, to the
132 extent feasible, in a manner that reflects geographic and demographic diversity and social, racial
133 and economic equity within the commonwealth; and provided further, that program funds may
134 be used for the reasonable costs of administering the program not to exceed 5 per cent of the total
135 assistance made during the fiscal year…………………………………………........$40,000,000
136 7002-8066 For a capital grant program to be administered by the executive office of
137 economic development, in consultation with the executive office for administration and finance,
138 to provide grants to support large, transformational projects to drive economic growth; provided,
139 that such program may be known as Mass Impact…....……....….............................$250,000,000
140 7002-8068 For the rural development program established in section 66A of chapter
141 23A of the General Laws....…………………………………………….…................$100,000,000
142 7002-8069 For a capital grant program to be administered by the executive office of
143 economic development to provide grants or other financial assistance to private businesses that
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144 are constructing or expanding commercial, industrial or manufacturing facilities in the
145 commonwealth which may include, but are not limited to: (i) the construction or expansion of
146 facilities in a manner that eliminates or minimizes the use of fossil-fuel heating and cooling
147 equipment or incorporates other decarbonization measures that would not otherwise be
148 incorporated into the facility design; (ii) the integration of design features that make a facility
149 more resilient to the impacts of climate change, where such design features would not otherwise
150 be economically feasible; or (iii) capital investments that support the creation of a significant
151 number of new jobs in the commonwealth; provided, that the secretary of economic development
152 shall promulgate program guidelines around the administration of the program, which may
153 include administering the program through a contract with the Massachusetts Development
154 Finance Agency or other appropriate quasi-governmental agency………………........$25,000,000
155 7002-8070 For a capital grant program to be administered by the Massachusetts
156 Technology Park Corporation established in chapter 40J of the General Laws, to support the
157 adoption and application of artificial intelligence capabilities to public policy problems and to
158 leverage emerging artificial intelligence technologies to advance the commonwealth’s lead in
159 technology sectors including, but not limited to, life sciences, healthcare and hospitals, financial
160 services, advanced manufacturing, robotics and education; provided, that grants shall support
161 capital expenses related to activities that leverage emerging artificial intelligence technologies to
162 advance the commonwealth’s lead in such technology sectors; provided further, that grants shall
163 be awarded and administered consistent with the strategic goals and priorities of the AI Strategic
164 Task Force established by Executive Order No. 628; and provided further, that funds shall be
165 used to support the incubation of artificial intelligence firms, advance the adoption of artificial
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166 intelligence technologies and support artificial intelligence software and hardware technology
167 development and commercialization activities..…………………….….…................$100,000,000
168 7002-8072 For a competitive program administered by the Massachusetts Technology
169 Park Corporation established in chapter 40J of the General Laws to provide grants or other
170 financial assistance for infrastructure support for industry-led consortia focused on advancing the
171 commonwealth’s global leadership and growing jobs in ke