The Chamber played a lead role in securing the enactment of an unemployment insurance rate freeze bill, passed by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor last month. By freezing UI rates at 2007 levels, Massachusetts will deliver more than $150 million in direct savings to employers this year, without harming the overall solvency of the UI Trust Fund or jeopardizing the fund’s ability to fully provide unemployment benefits to Massachusetts workers. Enactment of legislation that improves the state’s overall cost competitiveness can help to advance economic recovery, drive future state and local revenue growth, and send an important signal to current and prospective employers that Massachusetts is prepared to compete for their business.

As the national economy continues to teeter on the edge of recession, it is vital that Massachusetts takes steps to grow jobs and strengthen the state's competitiveness. To this end, the Chamber continues to advocate for 1) a reduction in the state corporate tax, and 2) a corporate tax climate that is clear, predictable and competitive.

Over the past five years, Massachusetts companies have paid more than $1 billion in new taxes. The state's corporate tax burden is the 10th highest in the nation, and the corporate tax rate of 9.5% is the 6th highest rate in the U.S. These factors have lead to anemic job growth – from 2003-2007 Massachusetts had the fourth-worst rate of job creation in the country – and fueled the perception that Massachusetts is an inhospitable place to do business. In order to stem the tide of recession and continue to grow jobs in the Commonwealth, Massachusetts must take steps to encourage investment. Several weeks ago, House Speaker Sal DiMasi outlined a revenue neutral corporate tax proposal that included a three-step reduction in the corporate rate to 7.0%, beginning in 2009 and ending in 2011.

In the weeks and months ahead, the Chamber will continue to meet with State House leaders in order to ensure that the needs and interests of the employer community are reflected in the drafting of proposed changes to the state’s corporate tax code – including combined reporting and “check-the-box” provisions. The Chamber has long advocated revenue neutrality and a significant rate cut as key parts of any corporate tax legislation, and is encouraged by the Speaker’s proposal. Given the sluggish economy and the uncertain economic prospects that lay ahead for Massachusetts, it is essential to view any tax proposal through the lens of its impact on economic development, job creation, and overall competitiveness.

The Chamber continues to engage State House leaders on the 10-year, $1 billion life sciences initiative filed by Governor Patrick, which is currently being reworked by the Legislature. The Chamber has testified in support of and is working to advance the goals of this initiative, which seeks to secure Massachusetts’ global leadership in the life sciences industry through a series of tax incentives, capital expenditures, training initiatives, and other targeted life sciences investments. A Chamber-filed tax reform that extends the net operating loss (NOL) carry-forward period for life sciences companies in Massachusetts has been included in versions of the bill filed by the Governor and recently passed by the House. The Chamber will continue to provide input to legislative leadership and work for the enactment of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative in the coming weeks.

The Chamber is working to ensure that Greater Boston remains a desirable place for cutting-edge research facilities. These efforts include the preservation of a state regulatory environment that balances promoting research and innovation with ensuring public safety in the region’s research facilities. The Chamber successfully blocked a legislative proposal last month which sought to impose significant new roadblocks to construction of new laboratory space in the state.

The Chamber is working to secure and grow the region’s financial services industry through the creation of a more stable, predictable, and competitive regulatory structure – a key recommendation outlined in the March 2007 study “Securing Massachusetts’s Leadership Position in Financial Services.” As part of this effort, the Chamber is working with top officials in the Attorney General’s office and the Patrick administration on their regulatory review initiative designed to facilitate business expansion, job growth, and economic development in the Commonwealth. The Chamber is working to ensure that the financial services industry as a whole – as well as specific areas of concern raised by financial service member firms – remain a focal point of this regulatory review initiative in the coming weeks and months.

Earlier this month, the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Higher Education gave a favorable recommendation to a Chamber-sponsored bill, Senate 729, that would create a higher education assistance program. Under this proposal, participating employers would be eligible for a state tax credit for providing financial assistance to college students. Students receiving assistance would agree to work for the employer upon graduation. The intent of this legislation is to encourage regional talent retention, reduce student financial burdens, and promote employer/academic institution partnerships. The Chamber will continue to work for the bill's passage in the months ahead.

Earlier this month, Senate President Therese Murray unveiled a comprehensive health care cost-containment bill, following up on comments she made at the Chamber’s Government Affairs Forum last fall.

The Chamber supports several provisions of the bill, including statewide adoption of computerized physician order entry systems, statewide adoption and compatibility of electronic medical records, and loan forgiveness and workforce housing assistance programs for nurses and primary care physicians. These proposals have the potential to reduce medical errors, drive down overall health care costs, meet the needs of the high-growth health care industry, and attract and retain talented medical professionals.

However, the legislation also includes a ban on gifts to physicians from pharmaceutical sales representatives. The Chamber is concerned that this proposal will have a negative impact on the state’s world-renowned life sciences cluster and its ability to realize its full potential in the Commonwealth. Over the coming months, the Chamber will work to ensure that the Legislature gives careful consideration to the potential negative implications of this provision of the bill, and will continue to provide members with additional information as it becomes available.

On March 6, the Chamber released a data and research-based report that examined the economic, fiscal, and socio-economic impacts of the casino legislation proposed by Governor Deval Patrick. This legislation, filed in October of 2007, and recently voted down in the House of Representatives, would have legalized casino gaming in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and allowed for the development of up to three large destination-style casinos in different regions of the state.

The Chamber study, entitled Casino Gaming in Massachusetts: An Economic, Fiscal, & Social Analysis and conducted by UHY Advisors FLVS, Inc., found that the creation of three destination-style resort casinos would result in $2 billion to $2.3 billion in annual gross gaming revenue (GGR) based on current conditions, netting $376 million to $429 million for general purpose funds for the Commonwealth in 2012. The study also found that 17,000 to 21,000 permanent jobs and 10,000 to 11,500 one-time construction jobs would be created. Finally, the study examined the research on potential socio-economic impacts - negative, positive, and otherwise - of casino gambling.

The independent, data-based study did not take a position or make any recommendations, but was designed to help inform the debate. The full study can be downloaded at bostonchamber.com.