MTF's 2024 Massachusetts Competitiveness Index Report is designed to put forward a framework to assess how Massachusetts stacks up compared to other states, key economic and geographic competitors, and itself.

The report looks at 26 different metrics organized into four critical areas:

•Economic Health
•Population and Labor Force Trends
•Business, Employment, and Investment Factors; and
•Resident Life
 

On March 1st, the Healey-Driscoll administration unveiled their economic development bill, An Act relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership, also known as the Mass Leads Act. The House and Senate have now each acted on their own versions of the bill, and a conference committee has been appointed to reconcile all differences and produce a compromise package. 

The House and Senate have both passed their own versions of a housing bond bill, known as the Affordable Homes Act, and now must reconcile the two versions in Conference Committee. Both bills propose more than $5 billion in capital authorizations, significantly more than the record $4.1 billion proposal from Governor Healey; and put forward a myriad of housing policy provisions, many of which were originally proposed by the Governor. 

On March 1st, the Healey-Driscoll administration unveiled their economic development bill, titled An Act Relative to Strengthening Massachusetts’ Economic Leadership or the Mass Leads Act. Through $2.815 billion in capital spending authorizations, $675 million in additional tax credits over ten years, and a number of policy provisions, the bill puts into action many of the elements of the Healey-Driscoll administration’s economic development plan, released in December of 2023.

This Brief will break down each of the major components of the bill. Specifically, it will:

On October 18th, the Healey administration unveiled a $4.1 billion housing bond bill, titled the Affordable Homes Act, which combined a new five-year capital funding plan with a variety of policy proposals intended to spur production and accelerate rehabilitation of housing stock, reduce state and local barriers to development, and assist residents in attaining stable housing.

This Brief will break down each of the major components of the bill. Specifically, it will:

Massachusetts is experiencing a dual workforce challenge – a shrinking labor force and a lack of diversity in key sectors. Increased mobility due to the availability of remote work, high costs, and troubling demographic trends create challenges for the state to meet its current and future labor force needs.

House and Senate conferees have released a compromise tax bill that includes an impactful combination of tax cuts to help people and employers in Massachusetts. The $951 million package includes a total of 17 different tax relief provisions, each of which targets issues of cost and competitiveness. The total Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 cost is $571 million, with a net impact to the budget that fits within the amount set aside for tax relief in the recently signed FY 2024 spending plan.

Six months after Governor Healey filed her administration’s original tax relief bill and one month after a Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget that reflects the cost of a tax relief package was signed into law, House and Senate conferees have yet to produce their version of a final tax package. MTF has written extensively on the need for sustainable tax relief, the specifics of each legislative proposal, and made recommendations for the final bill.

The House and Senate have both unanimously passed major tax relief legislation in the last two months and a Conference Committee has been appointed to resolve differences. While both bills share many major elements, the bills differ in scope, implementation schedules, and individual components. The timely resolution of these differences is critical; not only to put in place tax relief after eighteen months of discussion, but also to finalize a balanced fiscal year 2024 budget.

Today, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (SWM) released its tax relief proposal. The plan, which mirrors the tax bill passed by the Senate in 2022, includes seven major tax relief provisions and carries an estimated Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 cost of $594 million.1 Like Governor Healey’s proposal, the plan also includes a number of smaller tax provisions not addressed in the House bill, including an increase to the state’s Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP) cap and adjustments to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).