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The Chamber's 2009 legislative agenda is focused on four goals: strengthening Greater Boston's workforce, making the region's business climate more competitive, strengthening critical industries, and fixing Greater Boston's infrastructure. The Chamber is working with member companies, government leaders, and other business groups to advance those
issues, as outlined below. |
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POLICY |
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In This Issue |
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Charter Schools |
Corporate Tax Policy |
Competitiveness
Scorecard |
Unemployment
Insurance
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Data
Privacy
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Life Sciences
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Charter Schools:
Chamber continues
work to secure “Race
to the Top” funding
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The Chamber
continues to
advocate for
enactment of strong
education reform
legislation which
would lift the cap
on charter schools,
create new
innovative schools
across the
Commonwealth, and
provide additional
mechanisms to turn
around
underperforming
schools. The Chamber
believes that
Massachusetts must
do more to
strengthen public
education throughout
the Commonwealth,
and expand options
for parents and
students.
Earlier this month,
the Senate passed a
bill that would
increase the cap on
charter schools in
the lowest
performing
districts, establish
Innovation Schools
with increased
flexibility and
autonomy, and create
new methods for
turning around
underperforming
schools. The House
is expected to
debate legislation
in early January.
Urgent action on
education reform
legislation will
help to improve
educational
outcomes, close the
achievement gap, and
ensure that
Massachusetts is
eligible to receive
federal “Race to the
Top” funds. The
Chamber will
continue to advocate
for passage of a
strong education
reform bill, which
would lift the cap
on charter schools
and provide
increased
educational
innovation, prior to
the January 19, 2010
“Race to the Top”
application
deadline. |
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Corporate
Tax Policy: Chamber
continues to
advocate for
combined reporting
regulation
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The Chamber is
advocating for
corrective action on
state combined
reporting tax rules.
Those regulations,
released by the
Revenue Department
in May, contain
provisions that will
make it more
difficult for
multistate and
multinational
companies to do
business in
Massachusetts.
Combined reporting
changes are
necessary in order
to level the playing
field for all
Massachusetts
employers, and
ensure that
companies continue
to invest, hire, and
compete here.
Legislation aimed at
making technical
corrections to the
combined reporting
law did not advance
in the legislature
this year. While
this bill could move
forward when formal
legislative sessions
resume in January
2010, the combined
reporting law could
be improved by the
Patrick
Administration via
regulatory
amendments. The
Chamber will
continue to work for
those improvements
in the weeks ahead.
They will make
Massachusetts a more
competitive and
welcoming place for
business.
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Competitiveness:
Chamber releases
second
Competitiveness
Scorecard |
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On November 11, the
Chamber released its
second
Competitiveness
Scorecard, a
barometer of cost
and competitiveness
issues facing the
Massachusetts
economy. This
edition of the
Competitiveness
Scorecard focuses on
innovation generated
by the state’s
higher education
sector.
To read the full
Competitiveness
Scorecard click here.
The Scorecard shows
that Massachusetts’
colleges and
universities play a
vital role in
promoting and
sustaining
innovation.
Massachusetts ranked
1st in the nation
per capita for the
total number of
patents produced by
higher education
institutions. A high
rate of patent
production indicates
success in research
and development, and
also indicates that
Massachusetts is a
fertile ground for
inventors and
entrepreneurs.
Massachusetts ranked
3rd in the country
in the total number
of start-up
companies created
from university research and development.
Despite its relative
strength,
Massachusetts’
higher education
institutions are
threatened by the
economic downturn
and global
competition. In
order to maintain
and strengthen the
higher education
sector’s position as
an innovation
leader, the Chamber
proposes:
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Sustaining the
strong
commitment to
federally
sponsored R&D
and not taxing
institutional
endowments that
continue to fuel
research;
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Promoting
patient capital
in Massachusetts
start-ups by
adopting a “3 in
3” investment
incentive, which
would apply a 3
percent capital
gains tax rate
to
Massachusetts-based
start-ups [vs.
current 5.3% and
12% rates]; and
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Strengthening
higher
education-business
connections for
talent
development to
keep college and
university
talent in the
region.
The Chamber will
advocate for these
recommendations, and
will work with
college, university,
civic, business, and
government leaders
to ensure that the
higher education
sector maintains its
leadership position
as an engine of
innovation.
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Unemployment
Insurance: Chamber
advocates for rate
relief and systemic
reform
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The Chamber has been
working for the
resolution of two
related employer
cost issues –
unemployment
insurance (UI) rate
relief and the
Medical Security
Trust Fund ((MSTF)
shortfall – with the
goal of cost relief
for employers
relative to current
law. Under current
law, Massachusetts
employers will face
a 42% increase in
the first quarter of
2010 in their UI tax
rates unless special
legislation is
passed. Such an
increase would add
an average $250 in
UI costs per worker
on top of premiums
that are already
among the very
highest in the
nation.
The Chamber has been
working with
business and state
government leaders
to gain consensus
around a legislative
rate relief package
that would 1) avert
an increase in UI
rates from the
current schedule E
up to schedule G, in
favor of a more
modest increase to
schedule F, and 2)
target inequities
via systemic reform
of the experience
rating and workforce
attachment
provisions. This
proposal could save
employers more than
$300 million
compared to current
law, and help to
mitigate an obstacle
to new hiring –
without jeopardizing
the overall solvency
of the unemployment
insurance trust fund
based on current
projections. While
formal consideration
of this set of UI
proposals would not
occur before formal
sessions resume in
January, the Patrick
Administration today
moved to address a
shortfall in the UI
system’s Medical
Security Trust Fund
(MSTF) by doubling
the $16.80 per
worker fee that
employers currently
pay into the MSTF.
The cost of that
increase would be
more than offset by
avoiding a UI
increase to schedule
G.
The Chamber will
continue to urge the
legislature and
administration to
seize this
opportunity to enact
UI rate relief in
the early stages of
the 2010 formal
legislative session.
Such action would
advance economic
recovery, drive
future state and
local revenue
growth, and send an
important signal to
employers that
Massachusetts is
prepared to compete
for their business. |
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Data Privacy: Final
regulations released
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The amended and
final Massachusetts
data privacy
regulation [201 CMR
17.00] was
released on November
4th by the Office of
Consumer Affairs and
Business Regulation
(OCABR). These rules
will impact the
customer security
practices of
companies doing
business in
Massachusetts. The
Chamber has been
working with
business and
government leaders
on this issue since
2008. Changes since
that time will lower
costs, mitigate
operational impacts,
and facilitate
compliance for
companies of all
sizes.
The final
regulation, which
becomes effective on
March 1, 2010,
contained revisions
1) clarifying that a
company that stores
the personal
information of a
Massachusetts
resident is subject
to the regulation’s
requirements, and 2)
clarifying prior
language related to
a grace period for
amending existing
contracts with
service providers. A
company has until
March 1, 2012 to
amend existing
contracts with
service providers to
include personal
information security
provisions, as long
as the existing
contracts were
entered into before
March 1, 2010.
In the months ahead,
the Chamber will
continue working
with government and
business leaders to
advance the shared
goals of secure
customer data and a
competitive business
climate. For
additional
information on the
data privacy
regulation and links
to relevant state
and Chamber
resources, please
visit the Chamber’s
new
data privacy portal.
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Life Sciences:
Chamber works to
secure 12 year
window of
exclusivity for
innovative biologics
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Last week a Boston
Globe editorial
argued against a 12
year window for
exclusivity in
biologic treatments
(therapies developed
by life science
companies). The
Chamber believes
that too short a
window of data
exclusivity for
biologics could
undercut incentives
for research and
product development
in the life sciences
sector. The Chamber
submitted a letter
to the Globe
outlining that
position, which
appeared in the
November 30 edition
and can be
read here.
Both the US House
and Senate are
advancing
legislation that
would authorize a
pathway for Food and
Drug Administration
approval of
follow-on biologics.
The Chamber
supports, and will
work for, an
approval pathway
that grants
innovators 12 years
of data exclusivity. |
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For more information on the Chamber's policy agenda, contact Jim Klocke, executive vice president, Tim Sweeney, director of public policy, or Sarah Lanning, assistant director of economic development. |
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JOBS |
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October Jobs Update:
State unemployment
rate drops to 8.9%
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Each month, the Chamber releases a monthly jobs update to administration officials, legislators, key policy-makers, and Chamber members, informing them of the state's latest job numbers, emerging trends in job creation, and the state's current employment numbers in relation to the state's 2002 peak.
Headlines
from the October
2009
Massachusetts
Jobs Update
include:
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Massachusetts
lost 900 jobs
last month;
posted a 3.1%
job loss in the
last 12 months,
moderately
better than the
US annual job
loss rate of
4.0%
- The state
unemployment
rate dropped to
8.9%, the first
rate decline
since June
2007and
substantially
lower than the
US rate of 10.2%
- Five of the
12 regions added
jobs last month;
all 12 regions
shed jobs
year-over-year
- Education
and Health
Services are the
only two sectors
to add jobs
statewide
year-over-year
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Annual Holiday
Reception
Wednesday
December 2, 2009
State Room Boston
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Government Affairs Forum
Mayor Thomas M. Menino
City of Boston
Tuesday December 8, 2009
InterContinental Boston
7:45 a.m. Registration
8:10 - 9:00 a.m. Program
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INSIDE THE CHAMBER |
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On November 5, the
Chamber’s Life
Sciences Alliance
convened to discuss
and craft an agenda
of public policy
issues to be
advanced in 2010. |
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On November 9,
Barbara Anthony,
undersecretary for
the Office of
Consumer Affairs &
Business Regulation,
addressed the
Chamber’s Financial
Services Committee.
She provided an
overview of efforts
to revise and
implement state data
privacy regulations. |
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On November 19,
Jeff Mullan,
secretary & CEO of MassDOT, addressed
the Chamber’s
Transportation
Committee. He
discussed
substantial progress
made by the new
agency, MassDOT,
created by 2009
transportation
reform legislation. |
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CHAMBER POLICY STAFF
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Jim Klocke, executive vice president
Tim Sweeney, director of public policy
Sarah Lanning, assistant director of economic development
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