MMA asks Senators to support key investments in economic development bond bill

Dear Senator,

We are writing to express our appreciation for the many provisions included in the Economic Development Bill recently reported out by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (S. 2856). The authorizations for critical infrastructure projects and programs in this legislation reflect a commitment to economic development in our 351 cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth.

We are deeply grateful to Senate President Spilka, Chair Rodrigues, Chair Finegold, Chair Kennedy, and so many others for their thoughtful work on this bill, and for moving it forward for debate this Thursday. S.2856 includes a number of essential investments to help municipalities continue economic recovery efforts through infrastructure, climate resiliency, and green technology projects. With more than $2.8 billion in bonding authorizations and tax credits included in this bill, we believe these provisions can make a significantly positive impact to ensure our communities are even more attractive places to live, work, play and stay. We strongly support this funding, including:

• $400 million for MassWorks grants for local infrastructure to provide much-needed and flexible assistance to move critical infrastructure projects in communities across Massachusetts.
• $100 million for the Rural Development Fund to provide financial support for infrastructure improvements and community planning efforts in rural towns.
• $150 million for public library building projects to assist many municipalities in updating and rehabilitating their facilities to better serve residents.
• $100 million for coastal communities grants to ensure essential coastal assets are able to withstand and adapt to threats of climate change; and much more!

As you deliberate later this week, we welcome this opportunity to offer insights on many proposed amendments ahead of this week’s debate.

We respectfully ask you to support the following amendments:

Amendment #293 (Codify Remote and Hybrid Meeting Options)
Please support and co-sponsor this amendment which would codify the many COVID-era changes to public bodies and town meetings. Importantly, this amendment would make permanent the existing flexibility for municipalities to determine the space and modality for the thousands of public boards and commissions that meet regularly to perform essential local government functions.

Amendment #429 (Modernizing Civil Service Laws)
Please support and co-sponsor this amendment providing desperately-needed reforms to the Civil Service system and modernizing many municipal public safety hiring practices. The current system does not reflect 21st century personnel management practices, and is in dire need of reform. This amendment’s language reflects years of hard work among the Public Service Committee and a comprehensive list of stakeholders. We support this important effort to present a true compromise bill to reform Civil Service.

Amendments #292, #116, and #290 (Various Municipal Modernization & Reforms)
Please support and co-sponsor these amendments updating and modernizing various municipal laws and practices. This includes updates to procurement laws, allowing for cooperative purchasing agreements for goods and services, eliminating unnecessary COMMBUYS publishing requirements, extending terms for local school building bonds, among many other items.

Amendment #34 (Statewide Action for Public Health Excellence 2.0)
Please support and co-sponsor this amendment to bolster foundational public health services across the state. The MMA has long been supportive of the intent of previous legislative efforts on this subject, but concerned about potential financial burdens on cities and towns. We are grateful for the work of the legislative sponsors to add important safeguards for municipalities in this amendment, which will transform the public health system in the Commonwealth.

Amendment #210 (Massachusetts Public Safety Building Authority)
Please support and co-sponsor this amendment which would establish a new independent state authority, as well as a separate public safety building fund, to assist municipalities with the construction/rehabilitation of public safety buildings. We support this framework as a way to help cities and towns address critical, unmet infrastructure needs.

Amendments #289 and #194 (Municipal Control of Liquor Licenses)
Please support and co-sponsor these amendments lifting the statutory liquor license caps and allowing a municipality, at local discretion, to create a plan for the number of liquor licenses that it deems appropriate.

Amendment #460 (Local Consultation in Municipal Priority Development Sites)
Please support and co-sponsor this amendment regarding local consultation for municipal priority development sites. Priority development sites are currently created through a lengthy, in-depth process by local officials who know their communities best. This amendment would strengthen the municipal priority development site process by requiring the permit regulatory office to seek local insight from municipal officials and regional planning agencies.

Amendment #187 (Paint Recycling)
Please support and co-sponsor this amendment requiring paint manufacturers to establish a postconsumer paint stewardship program to reduce the generation of postconsumer paint, promote its reuse and recycling, and manage its waste stream using environmentally sound management practices.

Amendments #494 and #425 (Access to Grants and Financial Assistance)
Please support and co-sponsor these amendments removing MGL Ch. 40A, 3A compliance requirements for most of this legislation’s funding. The consequences for non-compliance are already established in statute and should not be expanded through this bill, especially while many cities and towns are already in various stages of the compliance process under the law.

Summary
Thank you for your attention to the municipal perspective on these issues and for your ongoing support of cities and towns. Local officials are eager to implement many of these programs on projects to revitalize and develop their communities, attracting new talent and visitors to the state while supporting the needs of our residents. The economic development investments proposed in this bill will help enrich our communities and ensure our cities and towns remain the best place to live.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to have your office contact me, MMA Senior Executive and Legislative Director Dave Koffman at dkoffman@mma.org, or Legislative Analyst Ali DiMatteo at adimatteo@mma.org at any time.

Sincerely,

Adam Chapdelaine
MMA Executive Director & CEO