Plan will accelerate growth of our world-class innovation economy; invest in Gateway Cities and middle skill jobs training
BOSTON
– Thursday, April 10, 2014 – Governor Deval Patrick today announced an
economic development package that provides new tools and training so our
workforce is prepared to meet the needs of employers, invests in our
Gateway Cities to promote development across the entire state, and
provides incentives to create jobs and stimulate the economy. The
Governor’s bill, An Act to Promote Growth and Opportunity, builds
on the Administration’s proven growth strategy of investing in
education, innovation and infrastructure that has led to record job
creation in Massachusetts and made the Commonwealth a global leader in
key innovation economy sectors.
“We
are a more prosperous, more promising and more just Commonwealth for
more people today than we were eight years ago,” said Governor Patrick.
“But now is no time to rest on our laurels. I am convinced that we can
reach more of our residents and accelerate our job and wealth creation,
indeed that we can position ourselves to sustain our growth for many
more years. That’s why I am filing this Growth Sustainability Bill, to
expand opportunity more broadly into communities we have not yet
reached, and to accelerate the growth of our innovation sectors.”
Building
on a strong record of growth in the state’s world-class innovation
economy, Governor Patrick announced the creation of a Global
Entrepreneur in Residence Program to retain and attract entrepreneurs
who are growing companies and creating jobs in the state. The program
will allow qualified, highly skilled, international students currently
in Massachusetts to stay here after graduation if they are starting or
growing a business. Administered by the Mass Tech Collaborative, the
program will place selected students – who are eligible for H-1B visas
but unable to get them due to a federal cap – as “entrepreneurs in
residence” at public and private institutions and will ensure that they
continue to contribute to the Massachusetts economy.
Governor
Patrick also filed legislation to eliminate non-competition agreements
and adopt the Uniform Trade Secrets Act to promote innovation, job
creation and the growth of companies to scale. Other initiatives to
bolster the Commonwealth’s innovation economy include:
· Extending
eligibility for state business incentives to innovative companies that
create new jobs regardless of the size of their capital investment;
· Extending
the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s successful internship and
mentoring program which provides grants to qualifying high tech
companies to hire interns, providing students with experience and
networking opportunities;
· Codifying
the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, a public-private collaborative
effort to increase student interest and proficiency in science,
technology, engineering and mathematics;
· Expanding
the Commonwealth’s international marketing efforts to increase foreign
travel, business for tourism-related industries and tax revenue;
· Recapitalizing MassVentures, the state’s public venture capital investment agency; and
· Revamping the R&D tax credit program to give companies whose R&D expenditures are rising a larger credit.
“This
legislation is the next step to ensure long-term economic prosperity
for the Commonwealth,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary
Greg Bialecki. “With these initiatives we will extend economic
opportunity to every resident of the Commonwealth and continue to
accelerate our thriving innovation economy. These steps will ensure that
we do not just keep pace, but aggressively build upon the competitive
advantages we have created to be a global leader in the sectors that
sustain and drive economic growth.”
The
Governor’s plan also invests in our twenty-six Gateway Cities and in
middle skill jobs training programs to ensure that economic
opportunities are extended to residents in every corner of the
Commonwealth. These investments include:
· Creating
a Middle Skills Job Training Grant Fund that will create a competitive
advantage for our students and companies by training students and
workers for middle skill careers in advanced manufacturing and IT on the
most modern and up-to date equipment in these industries;
· Recapitalizing the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation, the state’s working capital lender, to small businesses;
· Creating
a Transformative Development Fund at MassDevelopment to make equity
investments, provide funding for collaborative workspaces and provide
technical assistance to support transformative development in Gateway
Cities;
· Expanding the Housing Development Incentive Program to promote market-rate housing in Gateway Cities; and
· Contributing
to the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, which facilitates the return of
old manufacturing properties to productive use in
economically-distressed areas.
The
Governor’s plan also removes statutory limitations on the number of
liquor licenses a local liquor authority can issue in order to give a
local community greater control of the number of liquor licenses in
their community. The Administration is also proposing to expand the
Infrastructure Investment Inventive program (I-Cubed), which provides
innovative financing for infrastructure projects expected to leverage
significant economic investment. Currently a community can only have 3
projects funded under the I-Cubed program. This proposal authorizes a
greater number of projects in a community and increases the total amount
available for projects which meet the high standards for the program.
In
total, the Governor’s economic development package represents a
multi-year $100 million investment through a combination of capital
budget and general fund expenditures.
“Investment
in valuable programs such as the MassTech Intern Partnership and
Innovation Mentoring Initiative enhances the Commonwealth’s ability to
retain talent, generate innovative businesses, and foster our globally
respected culture of tech entrepreneurship,” said Pamela Goldberg, Chief
Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
“These
initiatives help us partner with the Commonwealth and provides us with
the resources to support our economic growth,” said Salem Mayor Kim
Driscoll. “This legislation will serve as a turning point for Gateway
Cities, including Salem, by helping us attract new businesses and
residents and ensure that we are great communities to live, work, and
play.”
“We
are in the midst of a historic, Third Industrial Revolution, where
human capital and talent are the most important assets required to fuel
our economy,” said Jeff Bussgang of Flybridge Capital. “The Governor’s
bold initiatives – creating a state-sponsored program to attract
immigrant entrepreneurs and allowing the free flow of talent through the
elimination of the archaic non-compete restriction – will allow
Massachusetts to leap to the forefront as the most attractive place on
the planet to start and build innovation companies.”
"Since
being created by Governor Patrick through an Executive Order, the
Governor's STEM Advisory Council has launched the state's STEM
initiative to national prominence," said JD Chesloff, Executive Director
of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and Chair of the Council's
Executive Committee. "Thousands of students are being exposed to STEM
and the skills they will need to compete in a technology driven, global
economy. The Roundtable supports proposals by the Governor and
Legislature to put this Council into law to ensure that its impact is
sustained, which is essential to our state's long term competitiveness."
"Eliminating
restrictive non-competes – while protecting the interests of employers
with tools like non-disclosure and non-solicitation agreements – levels
the playing field for Massachusetts in the competition for
entrepreneurial talent with California and other states. We appreciate
the work of the Patrick administration in advancing this bill, and that
of the many other forward-thinking legislators who will create jobs in
the Commonwealth by backing it,” stated C.A. Webb, Executive Director,
New England Venture Capital Association.
“The
Workforce Solutions Group has long advocated for sector based job
training. This initiative is a great shot in the arm for the
Massachusetts economy that will help expand opportunity all across the
Commonwealth. Building talent pipelines in partnership with growing
industries is smart public policy that will result in higher wages for
families, revenues for businesses and stronger regional economies,”
stated Katherine Mainzer, Director of the Workforce Solutions Group.
The
Governor made today’s announcement at the second annual Economic
Development Summit, which convened a group of nearly 300 business,
government and academic leaders to discuss the implementation of the
Administration’s comprehensive economic development plan, Choosing to
Compete in the 21st Century. The plan outlines five strategies for
making Massachusetts a competitive player in the global economy:
building and retaining talent; supporting the innovation economy;
empowering regions and communities to create economic development;
making it easier to do business; and improving cost competitiveness. The
plan includes 55 action steps that describe how government, business
and academia can collaborate to bring about a more competitive and
successful Commonwealth.
For more information on Choosing to Compete in the 21st Century, visit www.mass.gov/compete.
