On July 24th, the Senate passed S.3178, An Act Relative to Economic Development in the Commonwealth, a $575 million economic development bill with 365 outside policy sections. The bill authorizes $270 million (88.5 percent) more than the Governor and $14 million (2.5 percent) more than the House. The Senate also includes 245 more outside policy proposals than the Governor and 105 more than the House. The Senate retains many of the capital authorization and a number of policy proposals introduced by the Governor and House. Like the House, the Senate bill also includes a wide array of policy proposals not in prior versions of the bill, including changes to the state’s 62F tax threshold law, a proposal to create a framework to assess AI risks, and several sections designed to reduce barriers to housing production.

This cover memo builds on our previous summary of the Governor’s Mass Wins Act and the House’s economic development bill to provide a brief overview of the major elements of the Senate bill, how it differs from the Governor and House, and a comprehensive section-by-section analysis.