State House Report: Around Midnight Legislature's Final Formal Session Delivers "Huge" Gains for CDCs!

On Sunday July 31, the Massachusetts Legislature held its last formal meeting of the 2015 – 16 legislative session, and the House and Senate completed action on several major initiatives.  The most important legislation for MACDC and its members was the comprehensive economic development bill, which passed at around midnight.  MACDC has been working with our partners and allied representatives and senators to advance many important policy priorities in this bill, and we are pleased to report that nearly all of our requests and recommendations were included in the final Conference Agreement that was sent to Governor Baker’s desk.  We have been in regular contact with Administration officials at each stage of the legislation’s development and eagerly await Governor Baker’s final signature, so that we can pursue the next objectives, which will be to help design and implement several of these important new initiatives.  We are very pleased with the legislative outcome for MACDC’s priority interests in the 2015 – 2016 legislative session and grateful to all of our CDC members who have helped us to advance our two-year advocacy and policy agenda.

Highlights:  An Act Relative to Job Creation, Workforce Development and Infrastructure Investment (H4569) includes definitive language to advance three core MACDC priorities: (1) to improve the administration of the Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) program, (2) to provide a $45 million capital authorization for the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, and (3) to provide $6 million of capital for the Massachusetts Food Trust. 

The Conferees retained a House adopted amendment, sponsored by Speaker Pro-Tempore Patricia Haddad, to authorize $1 million in new capital funding for the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) to support a matching grant program for CDFIs and CDCs.

The Conferees adopted a Senate-backed amendment to create a Donation Tax Credit (DTC) to allow existing State Low Income Housing Credits to support more housing preservation (prime sponsors include:  Senator Chandler, Senator Dorcena Forry, Representative Honan, Representative Rushing, and Representative Kaufman), and Community Benefit Districts (CBDs) provisions (sponsored by Senator Wolf), which will enable collaborative public-private-nonprofit partnerships to implement local initiatives and to enhance community revitalization.  In addition to the legislators referenced above, MACDC is thankful and grateful to Representative Peake, Representative Kulik, Representative Wagner, Representative Dempsey, Representative Madaro, Representative Walsh, Representative Holmes, Representative Madden, Representative Carvalho, Representative Donahue, Representative Smola, Senator Donoghue, Senator O’Connor Ives, Senator DiDomenico, Senator Rodrigues, Senator L’Italien, Speaker DeLeo, and Senate President Rosenberg for their commitment to CDCs, our shared goals, and the opportunity to work collaboratively throughout the 189^th General Court.

Here is a brief comparison of key economic development priorities contained in the House and Senate bills and the final Conference Agreement (H.4569) approved by the Legislature Sunday night and sent to Governor Baker this morning.

An Act Relative to Job Creation, Workforce Development and Infrastructure Investment (H.4483) (S.2423)