Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
The Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies held a hearing June 10 on a bill that would create a state program to connect municipalities with startups offering new civic technologies.
The proposed Innovative Communities Program would create incentives for municipalities to adopt new technologies by connecting them with relevant Massachusetts startups, vetted by the state, that are seeking to introduce new technology products.
The bill (S. 234) is sponsored by Sen. Karen Spilka of Ashland.
In order to be designated an Innovative Community by the secretary of Administration and Finance and participate in the program, a municipality would be required to do the following:
• Pass a resolution by a vote of the local governing body committing to the program
• Make public any municipal datasets maintained by the municipality (excluding those exempted by privacy laws)
• Commit to attend meetings and events organized by the state
• Commit to testing at least one technology annually that has been vetted and approved by the state, and share the results of the trial with other municipalities participating in the program
Qualifying municipalities would have access to the program’s grants for technology and technical assistance.
“This unique program would foster public-private collaboration, promote economic development, and make new technologies accessible to interested municipal governments that might otherwise lack the resources to acquire them,” wrote MMA Executive Director Geoff Beckwith in testimony supporting the legislation. “Importantly, it would also foster the sharing of information and best practices between participating municipalities, accelerating the speed of innovation within these communities.”
In order to advance in the legislative process, the bill must receive a favorable report from the committee.