Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Dear Senator,
On behalf of cities and towns across the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association is writing to express our strong support for S. 2231, An Act Promoting Economic Growth Across the Commonwealth. We thank you and Senate leaders for advancing this important legislation to promote economic development, improve and invest in infrastructure in our communities, and expand workforce development opportunities for our residents. As you know, the economy of Massachusetts is only as strong as the economies of its cities and towns, and we appreciate your work and ongoing partnership to craft legislation that helps realize the economic potential of all communities across the Commonwealth.
Local Control of Liquor Licenses
One of the most important components of S. 2231 is the provision to remove the statutory limitation on the number of liquor licenses that a municipality can issue. Under current law, a municipality that has reached the statutory cap on liquor licenses may issue no further liquor licenses without going through a home rule petition process requiring state legislative approval. This process is both time-consuming and cumbersome at both the local and state levels, and often proves incapable of moving swiftly enough to meet local demand.
The existing state-set statutory cap system is inefficient and ineffective, and hurts economic development planning across the Commonwealth. New liquor license approvals are frequently delayed by the current system, and new restaurants, bars, hotels or other hospitality-related entities often delay their openings, or open and operate at less than full capacity, as they await their licenses. These delays have negative implications beyond the businesses themselves. Restaurants play a key role in the revitalization of neighborhoods and increasingly serve as anchor tenants in large-scale retail or mixed-use developments of regional significance, generating tax revenue at the local and state levels. Delays in the liquor license issuance process are bad for business and bad for the local economy.
By lifting statutory caps, this bill would allow a municipality, at local discretion, to create a plan for the number of liquor licenses that it deems appropriate, eliminating the need for time-consuming home rule petitions. This would allow municipalities to have greater control over local economic development, allowing each municipality to consider the scale and scope of the needs of its population, its tourism sector, and its future development plans. Local control of liquor licenses is a key priority for local officials and the MMA, and we applaud its inclusion in the bill. We also urge you to reject any amendment that would weaken the bill’s language around local control of the number of liquor licenses in our communities.
During your debate this afternoon, we ask you to please support Amendment #52 offered by Senator Thomas Kennedy to grant the City of Boston the ability to appoint its own liquor licensing board. Every other municipality in the Commonwealth has this ability, except for the City of Boston. As an issue of equity, please support the transfer of this important decision to the local level in our capital city.
Expansion of I-Cubed
The expansion of the I-Cubed (Infrastructure Investment Incentive) program would allow more municipalities to access financing for essential infrastructure projects in support of high-value developments. This successful program has proven instrumental to several major municipal development projects. Under current law, a municipality may have no more than three I-Cubed development projects, and the program may expend no more than $325 million on all projects. S. 2133 would raise the number of allowed projects in any municipality to eight, and increase the amount of total allowable program spending to $600 million.
Brownfields Redevelopment Fund Recapitalization
Brownfields redevelopment funding continues to drive the environmental cleanup of contaminated land, transforming dangerous, harmful and compromised sites to safe, positive and productive use as part of key redevelopment projects. S. 2133 would add $10 million to the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, allowing for the remediation of more sites in more municipalities. We ask you to build on the longstanding success of this program and support this additional capital commitment.
Economic Development Incentive Program Changes
Economic Development Incentive Program (EDIP) projects receive tax incentives for job creation, manufacturing job retention, and private investment commitments, promoting business development and employment in cities and towns. Under current law, projects must be located in designated Economic Target Areas (ETAs) or Economic Opportunity Areas (EOAs) in order to qualify for the incentives. However, these designations are outdated and limit state support for projects that would otherwise qualify. S. 2133 would remove the requirement that EDIP projects be located in ETA or EOA areas, thus expanding the reach of the program statewide.
Gateway Cities Transformative Redevelopment Fund
In order to support large-scale transformative development projects in Gateway Cities, S. 2133 would create a Transformational Development Fund at MassDevelopment, capitalized at $10 million. This fund would support equity investments and technical assistance and assist in the creation of collaborative workspaces to jumpstart revitalization and redevelopment efforts in Gateway Cities.
Expanded Housing Development Incentive Program
Incentive programs provide important tools to leverage the creation of a vibrant array of housing in many Gateway Cities. S. 2133 would expand the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP), offering developers in Gateway Cities tax credits of up to 10 percent for market-rate and mixed-income housing units. In addition, the credits would double from $5 million to $10 million for the next four years, a meaningful increase that would certainly lead to the development of more housing.
Preserving Municipal Authority in Siting Wireless Antennas
We would like to offer our deep appreciation to the Senate for its decision to NOT include industry-backed language that would weaken local authority in the siting of wireless antennas and equipment. The language, which passed on a voice vote as an amendment to the House economic development bill, would allow the industry to place wireless antennas and equipment on virtually any building or structure in any location in any community, and override all municipal zoning bylaws, ordinances, and local authority to protect neighborhoods from unsightly and intrusive antennas. The telecommunications industry has moved to fast-track this far-reaching language, even though the FCC will soon release national uniform standards for the collocation of wireless antennas and equipment, which are expected to include the industry priority of a time-limited, expedited application process. The Legislature should not act on this issue until the FCC releases its uniform national standards later this year, and we applaud the Senate for not including this telecom industry language in the economic development bill.
During your deliberations this afternoon, we ask you to support the following amendments to build on the Senate’s outstanding efforts in S. 2231:
Please support Amendment #1 offered by Senator Benjamin Downing to Fund Brownfields Redevelopment. This amendment would increase Brownfields Redevelopment funding from $10 million to $15 million, significantly enhancing the number of sites that could be remediated and returned to productive use and fostering local economic development and job creation across the state.
Please support Amendment #2 offered by Senator Benjamin Downing to fund Transformative Redevelopment. This amendment would double the funding for the Gateway Cities Transformative Redevelopment Fund, increasing it from $10 million to $20 million and allowing many cities across the state the opportunity to engage in meaningful revitalization projects.
Please support Amendment #29 offered by Senator Mark Montigny to fund State Historic Tax Credits. This amendment would increase the capitalization of the State Historic Tax Credit Fund from $50 million to $60 million, bolstering the adaptive reuse of historic buildings in communities across the state and providing an important piece of project financing for many rehabilitative developments.
Please support Amendment #52 offered by Senator Thomas Kennedy to grant Boston liquor license board appointment authority. As noted above, unlike every other municipality in the Commonwealth, the City of Boston does not have a locally appointed liquor licensing board. As an issue of equity, please support the transfer of this appointing authority to the local level in our capital city.
Please support Amendment #169 offered by Senator Michael Moore to create a municipal seat on the Economic Assistance Coordinating Council. The Massachusetts Office of Business Development (MOBD) will house an Economic Assistance Coordinating Council comprised of members from sectors including business development, housing and community development, career services, and labor and workforce development, as well as gubernatorial appointees. Each gubernatorial appointee must have expertise in issues pertaining to training, business relocation, and inner-city and rural economic development. Amendment #169 would require at least one gubernatorial appointee to be a municipal official.
We know that you and your colleagues in the Legislature are committed and dedicated to building a strong, healthy and thriving Massachusetts economy, and we respectfully ask you to embrace the strongest possible bill to support economic growth in our communities. The municipally focused measures outlined above, particularly local control of liquor licenses, would bring real growth and opportunity to our cities and towns and support the residents and businesses of the Commonwealth.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to have your staff contact me, John Robertson or Catherine Rollins of the MMA staff at (617) 426-7272 at any time.
Thank you again for your important work on this legislation to promote economic development, improve our infrastructure, and invest in our communities.
Sincerely,
Geoffrey C. Beckwith
Executive Director, MMA