In this Issue:
Chamber and other business groups release transportation plan
Chamber secures changes to customer data regulations
Chamber to submit comments on stormwater management regulations
Op-ed: Chamber Cautions Against Protectionist Trade Policies
Inside the Chamber
Upcoming Government Affairs Forum
Greater Boston Chamber Policy News
Earlier this week, the Chamber – along with the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, A Better City, and NAIOP Massachusetts – proposed a comprehensive transportation plan to reform the way the state manages and funds transportation infrastructure in the Commonwealth. The plan calls for significant reform measures and governance changes, while also identifying new sources of revenue to ensure the viability of the state's transportation infrastructure into the future.
After nearly four decades of failing to find a workable solution to our transportation problem, Massachusetts can no longer afford to wait for reform. The mismanagement and inefficiencies that have plagued the system for so long must finally be put to rest, and an equitable funding mechanism must be created.
The plan put forward by the business groups emphasizes reforms throughout the state’s transportation bureaucracy. Reform proposals include:
Create a unified, independent surface transportation agency incorporating the MassHighway Department, MassTurnpike Authority – including the Western Turnpike and Metropolitan Highway System – the Department of Conservation and Recreation parkways and bridges, and the Tobin Bridge.
End the practice at MassHighway and the MBTA of paying salaries and operational expenses with bond funds, which are future debt.
Amend state law to permit public-private partnerships and alternative procurement contracts for transportation projects.
Restore full management rights to the MBTA to allow the Authority to determine levels of service and staffing.
Bring MBTA employees’ retirement and health care benefits in line with that of other state employees.
Although all cost increases must be carefully considered in light of the current recession, the future of job creation in Massachusetts is dependent on a safe, reliable, and efficient transportation infrastructure. Because the Commonwealth faces a $15-$20 billion deficit for maintenance of the state’s roads and bridges, the plan put forward couples reforms with a proposal to raise the gas tax by 25 cents, index it to inflation, and dedicate it to transportation. This increase, when paired with the proposed reforms, will secure needed repairs and account for future expansion.
The strength of the state's economy and its ability to compete is deeply dependent on the financial and physical stability of the transportation system, which moves people to their jobs and goods and services across Massachusetts. These proposed reforms will bring efficiencies to the management of the system while updating the sources of revenue that will ensure the viability of the Commonwealth's transportation infrastructure into the future.
Last month, an amended data privacy regulation was filed by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation incorporating key Chamber-backed revisions including:
Extending the general compliance date from May 1, 2009 to January, 1, 2010
Removing the 3rd party vendor certification requirement, inserting a requirement that companies take reasonable steps to verify service provider regulatory compliance
Limiting encryption requirements for wireless devices to data that contains “personal information,” rather than to all data transmitted wirelessly
The Chamber has worked closely with the Administration, the Attorney General’s office, the Legislature, and member firms in recent months to delay the implementation of the regulation, and to secure key revisions that will better enable companies to comply. These amendments represent a positive step in that direction.
The Chamber will continue to work with government and business stakeholders in the coming months in order to implement the regulation in a way that does not unnecessarily burden employers or harm competitiveness during these challenging economic times.
In November, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) proposed new regulations to implement a stormwater management program in the Commonwealth, which could impact hospitals, educational institutions, commercial and industrial properties, and multi-family housing complexes. The public comment period for these new regulations is open until March 11. The Chamber will be submitting comments highlighting the complex, expensive, and burdensome nature of some elements of these new regulations.
The proposed regulations would give DEP the authority to impose stormwater management requirements on all private property owners of existing and new developments with 5 or more acres of impervious surfaces (such as roadways, paved parking lots, and roofs) as well as existing developments consisting of 2 or more acres of impervious surfaces in total maximum daily load (TMDL) areas, including the Charles River watershed. DEP then would issue individual and general stormwater discharge permits, and would require owners and operators of existing and new facilities to closely monitor stormwater discharge.
At a time when employers are struggling in Massachusetts, it is especially important to make sure that government actions strengthen, rather than diminish, firms’ ability to grow and create jobs. The Chamber will work with state officials in the weeks ahead to ensure that the stormwater regulations meet that test.
Op-ed: Chamber cautions against protectionist trade policies
In a Boston Globe op-ed on February 11, Chamber president & CEO Paul Guzzi cautioned against the 'Buy America' provisions included in the economic stimulus package. Guzzi stressed the importance of exports to the Massachusetts economy, and the potential for retaliatory moves abroad. Read the op-ed here.
For more information on the Chamber’s policy agenda, contact Tim Sweeney, director of public policy, or Sarah Lanning, assistant director of economic development.
On February 18, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick addressed the Chamber's Government Affairs Forum. The Governor's speech focused on the economic stimulus package and what it means for Massachusetts. He also answered questions on the gas tax and his west coast trip. Listen to the speech in its entirety here. For media coverage of the event, click here.
Upcoming Chamber Policy and Government Affairs Events
Government Affairs Forum Speaker Robert DeLeo Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 Hyatt Regency Boston 7:45 a.m. Registration 8:10 - 9:00 a.m. Program
Click here to register
Government Affairs Forum Senate President Therese Murray Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Boston Park Plaza Hotel 7:45 a.m. Registration 8:10 - 9:00 a.m. Program
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