The following is an excerpt of a Boston Business Journal editorial dated August 7, 2024:
A little more than a month ago, we predicted in this space that the backlog of major, crucial bills that piled up toward the end of the legislative session would get short shrift, since lawmakers would be consumed with trying to pass the perennially late state budget.
Unfortunately, the month of July played out exactly as we predicted, with major pieces of legislation left unfinished, and the employers relying on those bills left out to dry.
One of the biggest disappointments for businesses was the failure to pass the $3.5 billion economic development bill, which would have reauthorized investments in the life sciences industry and launched similar support for the climate tech industry. This bill had been championed by Gov. Maura Healey, and the House version maintained the $500 million investment in the state’s Life Sciences Center, but the Senate had sought to slash that by more than half and the two sides could not reach a compromise.
The president of the state’s biotech industry group, Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, said in a LinkedIn post after the formal legislative session ended with no agreement that she “continue(s) to be disappointed with the Senate and its prolonged inability to embrace the value that this industry has for the commonwealth and patients.”
Of course, lawmakers could still return to Beacon Hill to try to pass the legislation during informal sessions. Earlier this week, House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka said they are willing to do so, but it’s not a simple fix: a single objection can stall a bill’s progress and lawmakers cannot take roll call votes, which are needed for the bond authorizations that anchor the economic development bill.