HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4045
Message from His Excellency the Governor recommending legislation relative to to promote growth and opportunity. |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the Year Two Thousand Fourteen
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An Act to promote growth and opportunity.
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to provide forthwith a business-friendly environment that will stimulate job growth and improve the ease with which businesses can operate in the markets they serve, and to coordinate economic development activities funded by the commonwealth, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. To provide for certain obligations of the commonwealth, and to meet certain requirements of law, for fiscal year 2014 the sums set forth in section 2A are hereby appropriated from the Economic Development Projects Fund established by section A, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in said section 2A and subject to laws regulating the disbursement of public funds. Unexpended balances of appropriations in said section 2A shall not revert and shall be available for expenditure in fiscal years 2015, 2016, and 2017. The secretary of administration and finance, after consulting the secretary of housing and economic development, may reduce amounts appropriated in section 2A, or the amount transferred by section 71, if the secretary of administration and finance determines that capital funds equal in amount will be expended for the same purpose.
SECTION 2A.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Office of the Secretary
7002-1501For the operations, including but not limited to equity investments, of the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation, currently doing business as MassVentures, established by section 2 of chapter 40G of the General Laws…………$5,000,000
7002-1502For the operations, including but not limited to loans and technical assistance grants, of the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation, established by section 2 of chapter 40W of the General Laws ……………….............................. $5,000,000
7002-1503For the operations of the John Adams Innovation institute within the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative established by section 6A of chapter 40J of the General Laws; provided that funds in this item shall be available for expenditure until June 30, 2018 ………................................................................$6,000,000
7002-1504For the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation doing business as the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, established under section 3 of chapter 40J of the General Laws, to establish programs that provide advice and training from successful, experienced entrepreneurs for start-up enterprises and that create a talent pipeline to technology startups and innovation companies; provided, that $2,000,000 shall be expended to establish an entrepreneur and startup mentoring program, in consultation with the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation, doing business as MassVentures, established by section 2 of chapter 40G of the General Laws, that would provide assistance, mentoring, and advice to startups and innovation companies by connecting early-stage entrepreneurs, technology startups, and small businesses with successful, experienced business enterprises and capital financing; provided further, that $2,000,000 shall be expended to fund paid internships for students seeking careers in technology and innovation industries to work with companies competing actively in those fields; provided further, that in the design and implementation of these programs, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative shall consult with and review the talent pipeline and mentoring programs that are administered by the Venture Development Center at the university of Massachusetts at Boston established under chapter 123 of the acts of 2006 in order to model and bring to scale successful talent pipeline programs and practices; provided further, that as a condition of such grants being awarded, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative shall reach agreement with the grant recipient on performance measures and indicators that will be used to evaluate the performance of the grant recipient in carrying out the activities described in the recipient’s application; provided further, that the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative shall file annual reports for the duration of the programs with the chairs of the house and senate committee on ways and means and the chairs of the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies, on or before January 1; provided further, the paid internship program report shall include the number of placements of students in paid internships during the academic year, an analysis of the impact of the program on the ability of participants in the program to enter the full-time job market in the technology and innovation industries after graduation and shall be filed by [June 15] of each year; provided further that the entrepreneurship program report shall include an overview of the activities of the programs, the number of participants in the programs, and an analysis of the impact of said programs on the success of the participants’ startup business ventures; and provided further that funds in this item shall be available until June 30, 2018..............…$4,000,000
7002-1505For the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency as established by section 2 of Chapter 23G of the General laws; provided that funds in this item shall be used for the gateway city collaborative workspace program, established in SECTION 30 of this act............................................................... $4,000,000
7002-1506 For the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, as established by section 2 of Chapter 23G of the General laws; provided that funds in this item shall be used for the gateway cities transformational projects program as established in SECTION 30 of this act………………………………………………………….$11,000,000
7002-1507For the purpose of the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund as established by section 29A of chapter 23G of the General Laws…………………………$10,000,000
7002-1508For the manufacturing and information technology workforce training program as established by SECTION 31 of this act………………$20,000,000
7002-1509For the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation currently doing business as the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative for a program to offer students on nonimmigrant visas the opportunity to remain in the Commonwealth to pursue practical training in entrepreneurship; provided that funds in this item shall be deposited in the Massachusetts Entrepreneur in Residence Fund established by SECTION 34 of this act ……………………………………………….$3,000,000
Massachusetts Marketing Partnership
7008-1015For costs to supplement the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism annual appropriation; provided, that no funds in this appropriation are intended to supplant the funding appropriated in 7008-0900; provided further that funds in this item shall be used for marketing Massachusetts in international markets to travelers and to enhance business opportunities with those markets; provided further that funds from this item shall be focused on increasing visitation and spending from countries which now have, or for which the office has reason to believe may soon have, direct air service; and provided further that funds from this item shall be available for expenditure until December 31, 2016 …………………………………………………………$7,000,000
SECTION 3. Chapter 6 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting the following new section after section 215:-
Section 216. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Advisory Council.
(a)There is hereby established the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Advisory Council. The Council shall advise the Governor and assist in informing the work of the secretaries of education, labor and workforce development, and housing and economic development on issues relating to STEM education and STEM careers in the commonwealth.
(b)The Council shall:
(1)Confer with participants and parties from the public and private sector involved with STEM planning and programming;
(2)Assess how best to dramatically increase student interest in, and preparation for, careers in STEM;
(3)Advise concerning the creation, implementation of and updates to a statewide STEM Plan that contains clear goals and objectives to guide the commonwealth's future STEM efforts, including the creation of benchmarks for improvements.
(c)The Council shall be chaired by the governor of the commonwealth or his designees (the "chair") and shall consist of not more than 47 members, including the chair and ex officio members. Each member shall be appointed by the governor and shall serve at the governor's pleasure, without compensation, solely in an advisory capacity.
(d)Council members shall be persons with demonstrated interest, experience and expertise in STEM education and shall be selected by the governor from the following groups:
2 of whom shall be members from the Massachusetts state senate, recommended by the senate president;
2 of whom shall be from the Massachusetts house of representatives, recommended by the speaker of the house;
1 of whom shall be of a U.S. senator from Massachusetts or his staff designee who serves on the commerce, science, and transportation committee or the health, education, labor and pensions committee;
1 of whom shall be a member of the U.S. house of representatives from Massachusetts or his staff designee who serves on the house committee on science, space, and technology or the house committee on education and the workforce.
The following 9 state officials, or their designees, as ex officio members: secretary of education, secretary of labor and workforce development, secretary of housing and economic development, commissioner of higher education, commissioner of elementary and secondary education, commissioner of early education and care, executive director of the massachusetts technology collaborative, CEO of the massachusetts clean energy center and president/CEO of the massachusetts life sciences center.
1 member from each of the following 7 fields: advanced manufacturing, computing technology, energy, engineering, health care, information systems, life sciences, and 3 at-large seats to be filled by representatives from high-demand fields.
20 leaders shall be selected to represent each segment of the education system along with the STEM advocacy and stakeholder community. Members shall include: president of the University of Massachusetts, or designee; president of a public state university, or designee; president of a private university, or designee; president of a public community college, or designee; superintendent of a public school district, or designee; superintendent of a vocational technical school, or designee; Chamber of Commerce executive, or designee; leader of a Regional STEM Network; early education provider; science or mathematics department chair from a public school district; out-of-school time or informal educator with expertise in the STEM fields; parent representative; teacher and 3 at-large education seats.
4 additional individuals shall be selected to represent key STEM stakeholder groups including, but not limited to, education, workforce development, non-profit organizations, organized labor, foundations and philanthropic organizations.
All terms of the ex officio members shall be conterminous with that of the governor. The other members shall be appointed for a term of two years, except for the Regional STEM Network seat, which shall be for a term of one year and shall rotate among the Regional STEM Networks annually.
(e)The Council shall establish an Executive Committee composed of up to 7 members who shall provide guidance on the recommendations of the Council and plan future meetings and initiatives.
The chair shall determine the membership of the executive committee.
(f)The administrative operations of the Council shall rest with an executive director, who shall be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the governor. The executive director shall be housed within the executive office of education.
(g)The Council and its executive committee shall meet at such times and places as determined by the chair.
(h)The chair, or the executive director with the chair's approval, may direct the Council to form subcommittees to focus on particular challenges facing STEM education and the STEM fields in the commonwealth. The composition and nature of each committee shall be determined by the chair.
(i)All agencies, departments and boards of the commonwealth, including the community colleges, state universities and the university of Massachusetts, shall fully cooperate with the Council. The Council may call and rely upon the expertise and services of individuals and entities outside of its membership for research, advice, support or other functions necessary and appropriate to accomplish its mission.
(j)The Council shall report any findings or recommendations, including any recommendations for legislation or regulations, to the Governor periodically but not less than annually.
SECTION 4. Chapter 6C of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 20, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 20. Except as otherwise provided by law, any sale of real property shall be awarded, utilizing appropriate, competitive and customarily acceptable real estate disposition processes and procedures, to the bidder who is the highest responsible bidder, subject to any restrictions, covenants or conditions the department shall find that sound reasons in the public interest require. Such processes and procedures may include, but shall not be limited to, absolute auction, contractual listing agreements with Massachusetts licensed real estate brokers, sealed bids and requests for price and development proposals. The department shall have the right to reject all bids submitted under such processes and procedures and to re-advertise for bids. Before any real property shall be so sold or conveyed, notice that such real property is for sale shall be publicly advertised in a newspaper with a circulation sufficient to inform the people of the city or town in which the real property to be sold is located, once a week for 3 successive weeks. Such advertisements shall state the time and place where all pertinent information relative to the real property to be sold or conveyed may be obtained, the time and location of the auction, or the time and place for the submission of such bids and for the opening thereof, and that the department reserves the right to reject any or all such bids. The department may require, as evidence of good faith, that a deposit of a reasonable sum, to be fixed by the department, accompany the proposals or bids. This paragraph shall not be applicable to any sale of real property by the department to the commonwealth or any city, town or public instrumentality, nor to a sale of real property which is determined by the department to have a fair market value of $100,000 or less.
SECTION 5. Section 4A of chapter 15A of the General Laws is hereby repealed.
SECTION 6. Section 3A of chapter 23A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the definition of "Certified project" and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
“Certified project”, an expansion project, an enhanced expansion project, a job creation project, or manufacturing retention project that has been approved by the economic assistance coordinating council for participation in the economic development incentive program pursuant to section 3F.
SECTION 7. Said section 3A of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of "Economic assistance coordinating council" the following definition:-
“Economic benefit”, awards of tax credits approved under this chapter, any tax increment financing approved under section 3F and section 59 of chapter 40, or special tax assessment approved under section 3F of this chapter.
SECTION 8. Said section 3A of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of "Economic development incentive program" and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
“Economic development incentive program” or “EDIP”, a program designed to promote increased business development and expansion in the commonwealth to be administered by the EACC.
SECTION 9. Said section 3A of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of " enhanced expansion project" and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
“Enhanced expansion project”, a facility that in its entirety and as of the project proposal date: (i) is located or will be located within the commonwealth; (ii) generates substantial sales from outside of the commonwealth; and (iii) generates a net increase of at least 100 full-time employees within 2 years after project certification, and which shall be maintained for a period of not less than 5 years; provided, however, that in the case of a facility that as of the project proposal date is already located in the commonwealth, enhanced expansion project shall refer only to a facility at which the controlling business has expanded or proposed to expand the number of permanent full-time employees at such facility and the expansion shall represent: (1) an increase in the number of permanent full-time employees employed by the controlling business within the commonwealth; and (2) not a replacement or relocation of permanent full-time employees employed by the controlling business at any other facility located within the commonwealth; provided, further, that in the case of a facility to be located within the commonwealth after the project proposal date, “enhanced expansion project” shall refer only to a facility that is: (a) the first facility of the controlling business to be located within the commonwealth; or (b) a new facility of such business and not a replacement or relocation of an existing facility of such controlling business located within the commonwealth; or an expansion of an existing facility of the controlling business that results in an increase in permanent full-time employees.
SECTION 10. Said section 3A of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of "Expansion project" and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
“Expansion project”, a facility that in its entirety and as of the project proposal date: (i) generates substantial sales from outside of the commonwealth; and (ii) generates a net increase of full-time employees within 2 years after project certification, and which shall be maintained for a period of not less than 5 years; provided, however, that in the case of a facility that as of the project proposal date already is in existence, “expansion project” shall refer only to a facility at which the controlling business has proposed to expand the number of permanent full-time employees at such facility to occur after the project proposal date and the expansion shall represent: (1) an increase in the number of permanent full-time employees employed by the controlling business within the commonwealth; and (2) not a replacement or relocation of permanent full-time employees employed by the controlling business at any other facility located within the commonwealth; and provided further, that in the case of a facility to be constructed or relocated after the project proposal date, “expansion project” shall refer only to a facility which is: (a) the first facility of the controlling business to be located within the commonwealth; or (b) a new facility of such business and not a replacement or relocation of an existing facility of such controlling business located within the commonwealth or an expansion of an existing facility of the controlling business that results in an increase in permanent full-time employees.
SECTION 11. Said section 3A of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of "Expansion project EOA".
SECTION 12. Said section 3A of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of "Expansion project ETA".
SECTION 13. Said section 3A of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of " Expansion project proposal" and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
“Expansion project proposal”, a proposal submitted by a controlling business to the EACC pursuant to section 3F for designation of a project as a certified expansion project, provided that: (i) the proposal is submitted in a timely manner, in such form and with such information as is prescribed by the EACC, supported by independently verifiable information and signed under the penalties of perjury by a person authorized to bind the controlling business; (ii) the proposal includes specific targets by year for the subsequent 5 calendar year period relative to the projected increase in the number of permanent full-time employees of the controlling business to be employed by and at the project from among residents of the commonwealth; and provided further, that in the case of a project that already is in existence as of the project proposal date, such projected increase shall not be less than 25 per cent over the subsequent 5-year period; and (iii) in the case of a project that is a new facility within the meaning of clause (b) of the definition of expansion project, such proposal shall include the number of permanent full-time employees employed by the controlling business at other facilities located in the commonwealth.
SECTION 14. Said section 3A of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of "Gateway municipality" the following 2 definitions:-
"Job creation project'', a project or investment by a controlling business that (i) is located or will be located within the commonwealth; (ii) generates substantial sales from outside of the commonwealth; (iii) does not involve a significant investment in the construction or expansion of an existing facility, or otherwise result in an increase in the value of the real property where new jobs are to be located; and (iv) generates a net increase of at least 100 permanent full-time employees within 2 years after project certification, and which shall be maintained for a period of not less than 5 years; provided, however, that in the case of a facility that as of the project proposal date is already located in the commonwealth, job creation project shall refer only to a facility at which the controlling business has expanded or proposed to expand the number of permanent full-time employees at such facility and the expansion shall represent: (1) an increase in the number of permanent full-time employees employed by the controlling business within the commonwealth; and (2) not a replacement or relocation of permanent full-time employees employed by the controlling business at any other facility located within the commonwealth; provided, further, that in the case of a facility to be located within the commonwealth after the project proposal date, "job creation project'' shall refer only to a facility that is: (a) the first facility of the controlling business to be located within the commonwealth; or (b) a new facility of such business and not a replacement or relocation of an existing facility of such controlling business located within the commonwealth; or an expansion of an existing facility of the controlling business that results in an increase in permanent full-time employees.
"Job creation project proposal'', a proposal submitted by a controlling business to the EACC pursuant to section 3F for designation of a project as an job creation certified project, provided that: (i) the proposal is submitted in a timely manner, in such form and with such information as is prescribed by the EACC, supported by independently verifiable information and signed under the penalties of perjury by a person authorized to bind the controlling business; (ii) the proposal includes specific targets by year for the subsequent 5 calendar year period relative to the projected increase in the number of permanent full-time employees of the controlling business to be employed by and at the project from among residents of the commonwealth; provided further, that in the case of a project that is a new facility within the meaning of clause (b) of the definition of job creation project, such proposal shall include, in addition, the number of permanent full-time employees employed by the controlling business at other facilities located in the commonwealth.
SECTION 15. Said section 3A of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of "Municipal application" the following definition:-
“Municipal project endorsement”, the endorsement by the municipality or municipalities in which a proposed project is located as required by clause (b) of subsection (1) of section 3F.
SECTION 16. Said section 3A of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of " Project" and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
“Project”, an expansion project, an enhanced expansion project, a job creation project, or a manufacturing retention project.
SECTION 17. Said section 3A of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of “Project proposal" and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
“Project proposal”, a proposal submitted by a controlling business to the EACC pursuant to section 3F for designation as a certified expansion project, an enhanced expansion project, a job creation project, or manufacturing retention project.
SECTION 18. Said section 3A of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following 2 definitions:-
“Special tax assessment”, a binding agreement between a municipality and a controlling business consistent with the requirements of subsection (7) of Section 3F.
“Tax increment financing agreement”, a binding agreement between a municipality and a controlling business consistent with the requirements of subsection (6) of Section 3F of this chapter and section 59 of chapter 40.
SECTION 19. Said chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out section 3B and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 3B. There shall be an economic assistance coordinating council, established within the Massachusetts office of business development consisting of 15 members. Said council shall consist of: the director of the office of business development or his designee who shall serve as co-chairperson; the director of housing and community development or his designee who shall serve as co-chairperson; the director of career services, or his designee; the secretary of labor and workforce development, or his designee; a representative of MOBD designated by the director of the office of business development; the director of economic assistance in the office of business development, or his designee; the president of the Commonwealth Corporation or his designee; and eight members to be appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be from the western region of the commonwealth, one of whom shall be from the central region of the commonwealth, one of whom shall be from the eastern region of the commonwealth, one of whom shall be from the southeastern region of the commonwealth, one of whom shall be from Cape Cod or the islands, one of whom shall be a representative of a higher educational institution within the commonwealth and one of whom shall be from the Merrimack valley, all of whom shall have expertise in issues pertaining to training, business relocation and inner-city and rural development, and all of whom shall be knowledgeable in public policy and international and state economic and industrial trends. Each member appointed by the governor shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. Said council shall adopt bylaws to govern its affairs.
SECTION 20. Section 3C of Said chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out clauses (d) to (h), inclusive, of subsection (1) and inserting in place thereof the following 4 clauses:-
(d)certify and approve tax increment financing agreements and special tax assessments pursuant to section 3F of this chapter and clause (vii) of section 59 of chapter 40.
(e)assist municipalities in obtaining state and federal resources and assistance for certified projects and other job creation and retention opportunities within the commonwealth;
(f)provide appropriate coordination with other state programs, agencies, authorities, and public instrumentalities to enable certified projects and other job creation and retention opportunities to be more effectively promoted by the commonwealth;
(g)monitor the implementation and operation of the economic development incentive program; and
SECTION 21. Section 3D of said chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following subsection:-
(2) The EACC may amend the boundaries of an ETA to address unique situations in which a commercial or industrial facility, which is the location for a prospective certified expansion project candidate, is located within the boundaries of 2 or more municipalities, with at least one of the municipalities in an existing ETA. Under such circumstance, if all of the municipalities involved wish to certify the proposed project, the boundaries of the ETA may deviate from census tract boundaries to include the parcel or parcels occupied by said commercial or industrial facility. The EACC may consider such an application for amending the boundaries of an ETA; provided, however, that:
(a) inclusion of the facility and underlying parcels in the pre-existing contiguous ETA does not alter the eligibility of said ETA as determined pursuant to subclause (ii) of clause (a) of section 3D;
(b) evidence that said commercial or industrial facility is physically located in 2 or more municipalities can be provided;
(c) the amended ETA application is jointly filed by the municipalities in which the facility and parcels are located, and the EACC approves said amended ETA application; and
(d) the filing municipalities represent in their joint application that a certified project application will be submitted to the EACC within a reasonable period of time for the project proposing to occupy said facility and parcels.
SECTION 22. Section 3E of said chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out subclause (iii) of clause (f) of subsection (2) and inserting in place thereof the following subclause:-
(iii)a statement which describes the municipality’s proposals to secure access to publicly or privately sponsored training programs to be made available to employees of certified projects, or others who reside in the ETA which contains the area proposed for designation, if applicable; and
SECTION 23. Said section 3E of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (3) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(3) receipt with the municipal application of a binding written offer from the municipality, subject only to acceptance by the EACC through designation of the area proposed therefor, in the municipal application as an EOA, to provide to certified projects within the project EOA and pursuant to section 59 of chapter 40 either tax increment financing or a special tax assessment consistent with clause (f) of subsection (1) of section 3F.
SECTION 24. Said section 3E of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the second paragraph of clause (d) of subsection (4) and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
An EOA shall retain its designation for at least 5 years and not more than 20 years from the date it is so designated, as determined by the EACC, unless such designation is revoked prior to the expiration of the specified period; provided, however, that the EACC shall not specify a duration in excess of that requested in the municipal application. The designation of an EOA may be revoked only by the EACC, and only upon the following grounds: (a) upon the petition of the municipality which requested the designation which petition satisfies the authorization requirements for a municipal application, and which petition shall be granted as a matter of course; or (b) if the EACC determines, based on its own investigation, that plans and commitments incorporated with the municipal application for such designation are materially at variance with the conduct of the municipality subsequent to the designation and such variance is found to frustrate the public purpose which such designation was intended to advance. Any such revocation of an EOA designation shall only be applied prospectively to deny certification to any projects located or to be located in such EOA and not certified prior to such revocation and shall not apply to, nor revoke any benefits due to or which may become due to, any certified project already in existence in said EOA, including but without limitation any benefits included in any plans and commitments incorporated with the municipal application for such designation; provided, however, that in no event shall a certified project receive any benefits arising from its status as a certified project for a period of longer than that specified by the EACC in its certification designation, including any renewals thereof, or 20 years, whichever period is of shorter duration. No designation of an area as an EOA may be renewed or extended except pursuant to the provisions of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive.
SECTION 25. Said section 3E of chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following subsection:-
(6)Upon application from a city or town, the EACC may also from time to time designate one or more areas of a city or town as areas presenting exceptional opportunities for increased economic development. In making such designation, the EACC shall consider whether there is a strong likelihood that one or more of the following will occur within the area in question within a specific and reasonably proximate period of time:
(a)a significant influx or growth in business activity,
(b)the creation of a significant number of new jobs and not merely a replacement or relocation of current jobs within the commonwealth, and
(c)a private project or investment that will contribute significantly to the resiliency of the local economy.
SECTION 26. Said chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out section 3F and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 3F. (1) The EACC may from time to time designate one or more projects as a certified expansion project, a certified enhanced expansion project, a certified job creation project, or a certified manufacturing retention project, and take any and all actions necessary or appropriate thereto, upon compliance with the following:
(a)receipt of a project proposal therefor requesting such designation from the controlling business;
(b)receipt of a municipal project endorsement, which includes the following findings based on the information submitted with said project proposal and such additional investigation as the municipality shall make:
(i)the project proposal complies with the definition of a project proposal set forth in section 3A;
(ii)in the case of an expansion project proposal, that the expansion project is consistent with and can reasonably be expected to benefit from the municipality’s plans relative to the project EOA, if and to the extent applicable;
(iii)together with all other projects previously certified and located in the same municipality, will not overburden the municipality’s supporting resources, including but without limitation those set forth in clause (f) of said paragraph (2) of section 3E;
(iv)the project proposal includes a workable plan, with precise goals and objectives, by which the controlling business proposes to realize the increased employment objectives for the project and the business’ plan to employ aggressive affirmative action goals, objectives and identification and recruitment techniques and, in the case of an expansion project, the plan for increased employment from among residents of the expansion project ETA, if applicable;
(v)the project proposal contains documentation regarding an agreement, if any, between the controlling business and area banking institutions by which said controlling business agrees to establish one or more accounts in said banks and said banks agree to commit a specified percentage of the funds deposited in said accounts for loans made thereby to businesses located within the expansion project area pursuant to the Massachusetts capital access program established pursuant to section 57 of chapter 23A;
(vi)the project as described in the proposal, together with the municipal resources committed thereto, will, if certified, have a reasonable chance of increasing or retaining employment opportunities as advanced in said proposal; and
(vii)In the case of an expansion project, the municipality or municipalities in which the expansion project is located or will be located each has offered to enter into a tax increment financing agreement meeting the requirements of paragraph (6) or paragraph of Section 3F, or to provide a special tax assessment meeting the requirements of paragraph (7) of Section 3F;
(c)receipt with the municipal project endorsement of a request by the municipality for a designation of the project as a certified project for a specified number of years, which shall be not less than 5 years nor more than 20 years; and
(d)the following findings are made by the EACC, based on the project proposal, documents submitted therewith, the municipal project endorsement, and such additional investigation as the EACC shall make, and incorporate in its minutes, that:
(i)the project proposal complies with the definition of a project proposal set forth in section 3A, with all other applicable statutory requirements, and with such other criteria that EACC may prescribe; and
(ii)the project as described in the proposal, and as further described in the written determination of the municipality made pursuant to clause (b) will, if certified, have a reasonable chance of increasing or retaining employment opportunities for residents of the ETA or municipality, as applicable.
(e)Notwithstanding any provisions of sections 3 to 3H, inclusive, to the contrary, as of July 1, 2014 it shall no longer be a requirement that a certified expansion project be located within an ETA and an EOA; provided that an expansion project proposal shall be accompanied by a municipal project endorsement that meets the requirements clause (b) of subsection (1) of section 3F.
(2)A certified project shall retain its certification for the period specified by the EACC in its certification decision; provided, however, that such specified period shall be not less than 5 years from the date of certification nor more than: (i) 20 years from such date; or (ii) the number of years requested by the municipality approving the project proposal, whichever is lesser, unless such certification is revoked prior to the expiration of the specified period. The certification of a project may be revoked only by the EACC and only upon: (a) the petition of the municipality that approved the project proposal, if applicable, if the petition satisfies the authorization requirements for a municipal application, or the petition of the director of economic development; and (b) the independent investigation and determination of the EACC that representations made by the controlling business in its project proposal are materially at variance with the conduct of the controlling business subsequent to the certification and such variance is found to frustrate the public purpose that such certification was intended to advance; provided, however, that for an expansion project where the actual number of permanent full-time employees employed by the controlling business at the project is less than 50 per cent of the number of such permanent full-time employees projected in the project proposal, then this shall be deemed a material variance for the purposes of a revocation determination. Upon such a revocation, any and all tax credits available to the controlling business as a result of project certification shall be revoked and forfeited for the year in which revocation occurred and all subsequent years, and the commonwealth, and the municipality, in the case of a certified expansion project, shall have causes of action against the controlling business for the value of any economic benefit received by the controlling business prior or subsequent to such revocation.
Under this section, revocation shall take effect on the first day of the tax year in which the material variance occurred, as determined by the EACC.
The revocation of a project certification shall not revoke any benefits due to the project that relate to years prior to the year in which the revocation determination is made, unless the controlling business does not proceed with the certified project or EACC determines that the controlling business made a material misrepresentation in its project proposal, or failed to act in good faith to create and maintain the jobs described in its project proposal. In any such case, both the commonwealth and the municipality shall have causes of action against the controlling business for the value of any economic benefits received subsequent to the date on which such material misrepresentation was made. The commissioner of revenue may, consistent with this paragraph, disallow or recapture any credits, exemptions or other tax benefits allowed by the original certification under this section. The department of revenue shall issue regulations to recapture the value of any credits, exemptions or other tax benefits allowed by the certification under this section.
Annually, on or before the first Wednesday in December, the EACC shall file a report detailing its findings of the review of all certified projects that it evaluated in the prior fiscal year to the commissioner of revenue, to the chairs of the joint committee on revenue and the chairs of the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies.
(3)The EACC shall evaluate and either grant or deny a project proposal within 90 days of its project proposal date and failure to do so by the EACC shall result in approval of the project for a term of 5 years. Approval of a project under this section shall not constitute an approval by the EACC of any tax incentives provided for under chapters 62 and 63.
(4)The EACC may award to a certified project tax credits available under subsection (g) of section 6 of chapter 62 and section 38N of chapter 63. The amount and duration of the credit awarded shall be based on the following factors:
(a)for expansion projects:
(i)the degree to which the project is expected to generate net new economic activity within the commonwealth by generating substantial sales from outside of the commonwealth, or otherwise;
(ii)the degree to which the project is expected to increase employment opportunities for residents of the project ETA, if applicable, and of the commonwealth; and
(iii)the economic need of the project ETA as measured by the income and employment levels of the ETA, if applicable;
(b)for enhanced expansion projects:
(i)the degree to which the project is expected to generate net economic activity within the commonwealth by generating substantial sales from outside of the commonwealth, or otherwise; and
(ii) the degree to which the project is expected to increase employment opportunities for residents of the commonwealth;
(c)for manufacturing retention projects:
(i)the degree to which the project is expected to generate economic activity within the commonwealth by generating substantial sales from outside of the commonwealth, or otherwise; and
(ii)the degree to which the project is expected to retain or increase manufacturing employment opportunities for residents in the project gateway municipality and the commonwealth.
(d)for job creation projects:
(i)the degree to which the project is expected to generate net economic activity within the commonwealth by generating substantial sales from outside of the commonwealth, or otherwise; and
(ii)the degree to which the project is expected to increase employment opportunities for residents of the commonwealth; and
(iii)the degree to which he project qualifies for certification as an expansion project, an enhanced expansion project or a manufacturing retention project, with the expectation that the EACC will certify a proposed project as a job creation project only if the proposed project does not otherwise qualify for certification.
(5)The EACC may limit any incentive or credit available to a project pursuant to subsection (g) of section 6 of chapter 62 and section 38N of chapter 63 to a specific dollar amount or time duration or in any other manner deemed appropriate by EACC, including limits or restrictions on the right of the controlling business to carry unused credits forward to future tax years.
(6)Where a municipal project endorsement includes an offer by the municipality to provide the certified project with tax increment financing, said binding written offer shall contain a tax increment financing agreement adopted in accordance with the provisions of section 59 of chapter 40. The EACC may approve such tax increment financing plan pursuant to regulations adopted by the EACC. Any such approval shall include a finding, reflected in the EACC’s minutes, that the tax increment financing plan complies with the requirements of said section 59 of chapter 40 and will further the public purpose of encouraging increased industrial and commercial activity in the commonwealth.
(7)Where a municipal project endorsement includes an offer by the municipality to provide the certified project with a special tax assessment, the municipal project endorsement shall include a binding written setting forth the following assessment schedule for each parcel of real property in and on which is located, and which is otherwise a part of, a certified project:
(i)in the first year, an assessment of zero per cent of the actual assessed valuation of the parcel; provided, that such assessment shall be granted for the year designated in the binding written offer;
(ii)in the second year, an assessment of up to 25 per cent of the actual assessed valuation of the parcel;
(iii)in the third year, an assessment of up to 50 per cent of the actual assessed valuation of the parcel;
(iv)in the fourth year, an assessment of up to 75 per cent of the actual assessed valuation of the parcel;
(v)in subsequent years, assessment of up to 100 per cent of the actual assessed valuation of the parcel.
For the purposes of this clause the term “municipality’s fiscal year” shall refer to a period of 365 days beginning, in the first instance, with the, calendar year in which the assessed property is purchased or acquired by the controlling business or the calendar year in which the assessed property becomes part of a certified project, whichever is last to occur; provided, further, that no such written offer from a municipality shall be considered to be binding as aforesaid unless and until it is authorized.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 3F, a municipality may offer a special tax assessment to a controlling business without a certified project, provided that (i) the municipality shall make a formal determination that the controlling business is making an investment that will contribute to economic revitalization of the municipality and significantly increase employment opportunities for residents of the municipality; (ii) the municipality shall apply to the EACC for approval of the special tax assessment; and (iii) the EACC shall make a formal finding, based on information presented by the municipality and incorporated into its minutes, that the special tax assessment is reasonably necessary to enable the controlling business’s investment and will further the public purpose of encouraging increased industrial and commercial activity in the commonwealth.
SECTION 27. Said chapter 23A, as so appearing, hereby is further amended by striking out subsections (a) and (b) of section 63 and inserting in place thereof the following subsections:
(a)There shall be established within the executive office of housing and economic development a MassWorks infrastructure program: (i) to issue public infrastructure grants to municipalities and other public instrumentalities for design, construction, building, land acquisition, rehabilitation, repair and other improvements to publicly-owned infrastructure including, but not limited to, sewers, utility extensions, streets, roads, curb-cuts, parking, water treatment systems, telecommunications systems, transit improvements and pedestrian and bicycle ways; (ii) for commercial and residential transportation and infrastructure development, improvements and various capital investment projects under the growth districts initiative administered by the executive office of housing and economic development; (iii) to assist municipalities to advance projects that support job creation and expansion, housing development and rehabilitation, community development projects, and small town transportation projects authorized under subsection (e); provided, however, that projects supporting smart growth as defined by the state's sustainable development principles shall be preferred; or (iv) to match other public and private funding sources to build or rehabilitate transit-oriented housing located within .25 miles of a commuter rail station, subway station, ferry terminal, or bus station, at least 25 per cent of which shall be affordable.
(b)Eligible public infrastructure projects authorized by the preceding paragraph (a)(i) shall be located on public land or on public leasehold, right-of-way or easement. A project that uses grants to municipalities for public infrastructure provided by this section shall be procured by a municipality in accordance with chapter 7, section 39M of chapter 30, chapter 30B and chapter 149.
SECTION 28. Said chapter 23A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following section:
Section 65. The secretary of housing and economic development shall establish a Massachusetts financial services advisory council, within the executive office of housing and economic development, which shall have the sole purpose to advise the governor or his designee on policies, strategies, and initiatives designed to preserve and advance the competitiveness and leadership of the state’s financial services industry, including the banking, investment management, and insurance sectors.
The council shall be composed of senior state government officials that work with the financial services industry, and financial services industry leaders with an interest in promoting hiring, investment, and competitiveness issues on behalf of the industry in Massachusetts.
The council shall have 15 members, and be chaired by the secretary of executive office of housing and economic development. In addition to the chair, 6 members shall be from state government: the chairs of the legislature’s joint committee on economic development & emerging technologies, the chairs of the legislature’s joint committee on financial services, the commissioner of higher education, and the executive director of the massachusetts office of international trade and investment. 8 members shall be representatives of business, with a minimum of two members from each of the banking, investment management, and insurance sectors. Business members shall be appointed by the secretary of executive office of housing and economic development for 2 year terms, and may be reappointed without limit to the number of terms.
The council shall convene a minimum of 3 meetings per calendar year to exchange ideas and develop strategies for business and government to work together to strengthen the Massachusetts financial services industry in areas such as public policy, workforce development, international trade and direct foreign investment, and industry promotion.
SECTION 29. Section 1 of chapter 23G of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Economic development project” the following definition:
“Equity investments” means investments that result in the agency holding a controlling ownership interest in any company; any membership interest that constitutes controlling voting rights in any company; any controlling interest in real estate or other assets; any transaction which in substance falls into any of these categories even though it may be structured as some other form of business transaction; and includes an equity security. The term "equity investment" does not include any of the foregoing if the interest is taken as security for a loan.
Said section 1 of chapter 23G, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of “Sponsor” the following definition:
“Transformative development” means redevelopment on a scale and character capable of catalyzing significant follow-on private investment, leading over time to transformation of an entire downtown or urban neighborhood, and consistent with local plans. Transformative development may involve major investment in new construction, rehabilitation and adaptive reuse, or multiple smaller investments on a sustained basis.
SECTION 30. Said chapter 23G, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after section 45 the following section:-
Section 46. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Transformative Development Fund within the Massachusetts development finance agency established in chapter 23G. In carrying out its duties under this section, the agency may utilize all the power and authority provided in chapter 23G. Notwithstanding any other provisions in chapter 23G, the agency shall have the power and authority to utilize the fund, as provided in this section, to make equity investments and provide technical assistance to revitalize and support residential, commercial, industrial and institutional development (or any mix of such uses) and provide financial assistance to promote collaborative workspaces in gateway municipalities, as defined in section 3A of chapter 23A. The fund will be administered and managed by the fund director, who shall be appointed by the executive director. The agency may adopt such guidelines as are necessary to implement the purposes of the program. The fund may coordinate with other agencies and instrumentalities of the commonwealth to effectuate the purposes of this section.
(b)The liabilities and obligations of the fund shall not extend beyond the monies which are deposited in the fund and shall not constitute a debt or pledge of the faith and credit of the commonwealth or any subdivision thereof.
(c)Moneys in or received for the fund may be deposited with and invested by any institution as may be designated by the treasurer of the agency at his or her sole discretion and paid as the fund director shall direct. Any return on investment received by the fund as a result of these deposits and the agency’s equity investments shall be deposited and held for the use and benefit of the fund. The treasurer of the agency may make payments from such deposit accounts for use in accordance with the provisions of this section. The agency may be reimbursed annually from the fund for all reasonable and necessary direct costs and expenses incurred with its administration, management and operation of the fund, including reasonable staff time and out-of-pocket expenses and the reasonable administrative costs.
(d)The fund shall be eligible to apply for and accept subventions, grants, loans, advances and contributions from any source, of money, property, labor, or other things of value, to be held, used and applied in furtherance of the purposes articulated herein.
(e)The agency shall use the fund to make equity investments in property that the agency has determined has the potential to constitute transformative development in one or more gateway municipalities.
(f)With respect to any property acquired by the fund, the agency may pledge its ownership interest, physical assets held by the ownership entity, or any portion of the anticipated gross revenue resulting from the fund’s equity investments, to secure loans related to development of the property. The agency may not cross-collateralize the fund’s investments in such property.
(g)The fund director shall allocate a portion of the original capitalization of the fund, not to exceed 20% and not less than 10%, to provide technical assistance to revitalize and support development in gateway municipalities, utilizing any or all of the following methods of providing such assistance: (i) grants to support the hiring of professional staff or professional services by a gateway municipality or any instrumentality thereof; (ii) reimbursement for professional staff employed by the agency and imbedded in a gateway municipality; (iii) grants to pay for third-party professional services managed by the agency; and (iv) any other variation on the provision of technical assistance that is consistent with the purposes of this section.
(h)At its discretion, the agency may allocate the fund’s technical assistance through a competitive process using criteria that include, without limitation, the existence of a long-term economic development strategy, commitment to effective use of the agency’s technical assistance by the municipality and other local partners, and the potential for transformative development in the gateway municipality.
(i)The fund director shall allocate a portion of the original capitalization of the fund, not to exceed 25% and not less than 10%, to support the development in gateway municipalities of collaborative workspaces to spur innovative and creative business growth and economic activity and assist with the redevelopment of underutilized buildings. The program shall: (i) promote the creation of spaces, known as collaborative workspaces, by providing financial assistance for capital investments in underutilized buildings; (ii) foster collaboration and linkages among innovative and creative enterprises by providing central locations for such businesses or individuals to work in an environment designed to promote sharing of resources, experience and expertise; (iii) support partnerships between municipalities, property owners and businesses to establish such collaborative workspaces; and (iv) require such collaborative workspace to provide shared space which promotes the interaction, socialization and coordination among tenants through the clustering of multiple businesses or individuals within the collaborative workspace. The agency shall, through grants, contracts, or loans, administer the program for the purpose of facilitating collaborative, co-working space to address a regional market demand for affordable work environments that support communication, information sharing and networking opportunities.
(j)Loans or grants made under this program may be made to property owners or collaborative workspace operators for building improvements which will be utilized by the collaborative workspace participants, provided that such use of the fund results in corresponding private investment that matches or exceeds the grants from the fund. In the case of a grant, any participating property owner or collaborative workspace operator must at least match the fund’s investment. In connection with any loan, the agency must reasonably anticipate that its loan will leverage additional private investment in the property.
(k)The agency shall solicit applications for financial assistance that promotes collaborative workspaces through a request for proposals. The agency shall establish criteria for the submission of applications; provided, however, that the applications, at a minimum, shall include: (i) a description of the parties involved in the project, including the professional expertise and qualifications of the principals; (ii) a description of the scope of work that shall be undertaken by each party involved in the project; (iii) the proposed budget, including verification of funding from other sources; (iv) a statement of the project objective, including specific information on how the project shall promote the use of the space as collaborative, shared space; (v) a statement that sets forth the implementation plan, the facilities and resources available or needed for the project, and the proposed commencement and termination dates of the project; (vi) a description of the expected significance of the project, including a description of the market demand for the type of workspace proposed in the region that the space will be located and the number of businesses or individuals that will be served as a result of the project; and (vii) any other information that the agency shall deem necessary. The agency shall also establish guidelines for the review and approval of applications that include preferences for proposals that (i) redevelop at least 10,000 square feet in existing properties located in the downtown area of a gateway city; (ii) dedicate at least 25 per cent of accessible space to collaborative use; and (iii) support a cluster of at least 15 separate occupants.
(l)The agency shall enter into an agreement with each collaborative workspace operator that receives a grant or loan or enters into a contract under this section (i) on performance measures and indicators that shall be used to evaluate the performance of the collaborative workspace operator in carrying out the activities described in their application; or (ii) any other indicators determined to be necessary to evaluate the performance of the eligible entity. Each collaborative workspace operator shall submit an annual report for the agency’s review for the duration of the collaborative workspace operation. The agency shall enter into an agreement with each property owner that receives a grant or loan or enters into a contract under this section on use of funds and timeframe for use of funds.
(m)The agency shall, in coordination with the executive office of housing and economic development, submit an annual report to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate who shall forward the report to the senate and house committees on ways and means, the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies and the joint committee on labor and workforce development on or before December 31. The report shall include a current assessment of the progress of each project funded through the collaborative workspace program and the progress of the participants in the program.
SECTION 31. Said chapter 29, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after section 2KKKK the following section:-
Section 2LLLL. There shall be established and set upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Advanced Manufacturing and Information Technology Training Trust Fund, hereinafter called the fund. The objective of the fund is to establish and support training and education programs that address the workforce shortages of the advanced manufacturing and information technology industries in the commonwealth with the goal of training 4000 workers in four years to help meet the workforce and talent pipeline needs of employers. The fund shall be administered by the commonwealth corporation in consultation with the executive office of housing and economic development, executive office of labor and workforce development, department of higher education and the Massachusetts technology collaborative; commonwealth corporation shall make expenditures from the fund, without further appropriation; provided, however, that not more than 10 per cent of the amount held in the fund in any 1 year shall be used by commonwealth corporation for the combined cost of program administration, technical assistance to grantees and program evaluation; provided further that Commonwealth Corporation designates not less than $2,000,000 to the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation doing business as the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, established under section 3 of chapter 40J of the 20 General Laws, to lead industry and employer engagement and cluster development efforts statewide and through regional partnerships, in conjunction Commonwealth Corporation.
(a)Remaining monies from the fund shall be expended on programs that have 2 or more of the following purposes, with a focus on aligning expenditures with industry needs:
(1)identify and support (or establish, if none exists) collaborative regional partnerships including but not limited to employers, workforce development and education organizations and economic development officials in every region of the state where manufacturers have a presence and/or where the IT industry and related IT occupations demonstrate demand;
(2)support these collaborations in becoming, or sustaining themselves as, high-functioning regional partnerships that make Massachusetts among the best places in the world for employers to find middle skill talent;
(3)address critical workforce shortages in advanced manufacturing and/or information technology;
(4)improve employment in the manufacturing and/or information technology industries for low-income individuals, women and minorities;
(5)provide training, educational, or career ladder services for currently employed or unemployed manufacturing and information technology workers who are seeking new positions or responsibilities within the manufacturing and/or information technology industry;
(6)Develop strong career awareness and advising programs for K-12, postsecondary, disconnected youth and under/unemployed adults;
(7)Increase support for internship and apprentice training;
(8)Boost industry-relevant instructor capacity for high school and postsecondary programs;
(9)Direct support for succession planning, worker retention and up skilling strategies for older and incumbent workers.
(b)Commonwealth corporation shall establish a competitive grant process for funds expended on programs under subsection (b). Eligible applicants shall include: employers and employer associations; local workforce investment boards; labor organizations; joint labor-management partnerships; community-based organizations; institutions of higher education; K-12 and vocational education institutions; private for-profit and non-profit organizations providing education and workforce training, one-stop career centers; local workforce development entities; and any partnership or collaboration between eligible applicants. Expenditures from the fund for such purposes shall complement and not replace existing local, state, private, or federal funding for training and educational programs.
(c)A grant proposal submitted under subsection (c) shall include, but not be limited to:
(1)a plan that defines specific goals for advanced manufacturing or information technology workforce training and educational improvements;
(2)the evidence-based programs the applicant shall use to meet the goals;
(3)a budget necessary to implement the plan, including a detailed description of any funding or in-kind contributions the applicant or applicants will be providing in support of the proposal;
(4)any other private funding or private sector participation the applicant anticipates in support of the proposal; and
(5)the proposed number of individuals who would be enrolled, complete training and be placed into employment in the targeted industries.
(d)Commonwealth corporation shall, in consultation with the executive office of housing and economic development, executive office of labor and workforce development, department of higher education and the Massachusetts technology collaborative, develop guidelines for an annual review of the progress being made by each grantee. Each grantee shall participate in any evaluation or accountability process implemented by or authorized by commonwealth corporation. The commonwealth corporation shall file annual reports for the duration of the programs with the chairs of the house and senate committee on ways and means, the chairs of the joint committee on labor and workforce development, and, the chairs of the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies, on or before January 1; provided further, the report shall include an overview of the activities of the programs, the number of participants in the programs, and the employment outcomes in the programs.
SECTION 32. Section 2MMM (a) of Chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the last two sentences subsection (a) of section 2MMM of chapter 29 and inserting in place thereof:-
The department of higher education shall hold the Pipeline Fund in an account or accounts separate from other funds or accounts. Amounts credited to the Pipeline Fund shall be used by the commissioner of higher education, in consultation with the Governor's Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Advisory Council, established under section 216 of chapter 6, in this section, referred to as "the council''.
SECTION 33. Chapter 40 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 59, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 59. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, any city or town by vote of its town meeting, town council, or city council with the approval of the mayor where required by law, on its own behalf or in conjunction with one or more cities or towns, and pursuant to regulations issued by the economic assistance coordinating council established under section 3B of chapter 23A, may adopt and execute a tax increment financing agreement hereinafter referred to as TIF agreement, and do any and all things necessary thereto; provided, however, that the TIF agreement:
(i)includes a description of the parcels to be included in the agreement; provided, however, that the parcels are wholly within an economic target area or an area presenting exceptional opportunities for increased economic development, as defined by section 3D of chapter 23A and as may be defined further by regulations adopted by the economic assistance coordinating council; provided, further, that in the case of a TIF area that includes parcels located in one or more city or towns, the areas included in the TIF agreement shall be contiguous areas of such cities or towns;
(ii)describes in detail all construction and construction-related activity, public and private, contemplated for such TIF agreement as of the date of adoption of the TIF agreement; provided, however, that in the case of public construction as aforesaid, the TIF agreement shall include a detailed projection of the costs thereof and a betterment schedule for the defrayal of such costs; provided, further, that the TIF agreement shall provide that no costs of such public constructions shall be recovered through betterments or special assessments imposed on any party which has not executed an agreement in accordance with the provisions of clause (v); and provided, further, that in the case of private construction as aforesaid, the TIF agreement shall include the types of industrial and commercial developments which are projected to occur within such TIF area, with documentary evidence of the level of commitment therefore, including but not limited to architectural plans and specifications as required by said regulations;
(iii)authorizes tax increment exemptions from property taxes, under clause 51 of section 5 of chapter 59, for a specified term not to exceed 20 years, for any parcel of real property which is included in a TIF agreement; provided, however, that the TIF agreement shall specify the level of the exemptions expressed as exemption percentages, not to exceed 100 per cent to be used in calculating the exemptions for the parcel, and for personal property situated on that parcel, as provided under said clause 51 of said section 5 of said chapter 59; provided, further, that the exemption for each parcel of real property shall be calculated using an adjustment factor for each fiscal year of the specified term equal to the product of the inflation factors for each fiscal year since the parcel first became eligible for an exemption under this clause; provided, further that the inflation factor for each fiscal year shall be a ratio;
(a)the numerator of which shall be the total assessed value of all parcels of commercial and industrial real estate that are assessed at full and fair cash value for the current fiscal year minus the new growth adjustment for the current fiscal year attributable to the commercial and industrial real estate as determined by the commissioner of revenue under subsection (f) of section 21C of chapter 59; and
(b)the denominator of which shall be the total assessed value for the preceding fiscal year of all the parcels included in the numerator; provided, however, that the ratio shall not be less than 1;
(iv)establishes a maximum percentage of the costs of any public construction, referenced in clause (ii) and initiated subsequent to the adoption of the TIF agreement, that can be recovered through betterments or special assessments against any parcel of real property eligible for tax increment exemptions from property taxes pursuant to clause (iii) during the period of such parcel’s eligibility for exemption from annual property taxes pursuant to clause 51 of section 5 of chapter 59, notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 80 or any other general or special law authorizing the imposition of betterments or special assessments;
(v)includes: (a) all material representations of the parties which served as the basis for the descriptions contained in the TIF agreement in accordance with the provisions of clause (ii); (b) a detailed recitation of the tax increment exemptions and the maximum percentage of the cost of public improvements that can be recovered through betterments or special assessments regarding such parcel of real property pursuant to clauses (iii) and (iv); (c) a detailed recitation of all other benefits and responsibilities inuring to and assumed by the parties to such agreement; and (d) a provision that such agreement shall be binding upon subsequent owners of such parcel of real property;
(vi)delegates to one board, agency or officer of the city or town the authority to execute the agreement in accordance with the provisions of clause (v);
(vii)is certified as an approved TIF agreement by the economic assistance coordinating council pursuant to section 3F of chapter 23A and regulations adopted by said council; provided, however, that the economic assistance coordinating council shall certify in its vote that the TIF agreement is consistent with the requirements of this section and section 3F of chapter 23A, and will further the public purpose of encouraging increased industrial and commercial activity in the commonwealth;
(viii)requires of an owner of a parcel pursuant to clause (v) to submit to the city or town clerk and the economic assistance coordinating council a report detailing the status of the construction laid out in the agreement; the current value of the property; and the number of jobs created to date as a result of the agreement; provided, however, that a report shall be filed every two years for the term of the tax increment exemption allowed under clause 51 of section 5 of chapter 59; and provided further, that a final report shall be filed in the final year of the exemption.
The board, agency or officer of the city or town authorized pursuant to clause (vi) to execute agreements shall forward to the board of assessors a copy of each approved TIF agreement, together with a list of the parcels included therein.
SECTION 34. Chapter 40J of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
Section 6H. (a) The corporation shall establish a fund to be known as the Massachusetts Entrepreneur in Residence Fund. The corporation shall hold the fund separate and apart from its other funds to finance the activities of the institute. The corporation shall credit to the fund any appropriations, bond proceeds or other moneys authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund, and any other moneys legally available to the corporation which the board of the corporation may determine to deposit in the fund. Amounts credited to the fund shall be available for reasonable expenditure by the corporation, without further appropriation, for any and all activities consistent with this section and supportive of the purposes specified in this section, including but not limited to, in the form of grants, contracts, loans and such other vehicles as the corporation may determine are appropriate. The corporation may make expenditures not to exceed $3,000,000 annually, in support of costs related to the program established pursuant to this section, including funding for salaries, legal and administrative fees, training expenses or materials. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended or applied only with the approval of the executive director of the corporation upon consultation with the secretary of housing and economic development.
(b)For the purposes of this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, have the following meanings:-
"Affiliate" a nonprofit entity (including but not limited to hospitals and medical or research institutions) that is connected or associated with an institution through shared ownership or control, shared directors or trustees, or contractual rights and obligations.
"Entrepreneurship Institution," an institution of higher education as defined in section 101(a) of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), or a related nonprofit entity meeting the criteria set out in section 103 of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(5)(A)) located in the commonwealth, that establishes a program and employs a resident entrepreneur pursuant subsection (c).
"Resident Entrepreneur," a student from outside the United States who desires to move to or remain in the commonwealth on a nonimmigrant status following a period of study for a masters or doctorate degree in the sciences, technological fields, engineering, mathematics, accounting, finance, economics, business or business administration, in order to obtain practical experience in their field of study, including the skills required in the organization and establishment of new business ventures. Resident entrepreneurs shall possess the necessary skill, experience or talents to perform a specialty occupation as defined in section 184 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (8 U.S.C. 1184(i)).
(c)The corporation and each participating entrepreneurship institution may establish a program of part-time employment for qualified resident entrepreneurs. Resident entrepreneurs shall work within the program no less than eight and no more than fifteen hours per week and shall be assigned duties in their chosen academic fields providing services directly to their employer or to one of its affiliates. Resident entrepreneurs shall work under the direct supervision of their employer on assignments that further the employer’s interests while developing skills required for organizing and establishing successful new business ventures. The employer shall pay each resident entrepreneur a salary for their services at a market rate as established by the U.S. Department of Labor.
In order to allow resident entrepreneurs to remain in the commonwealth following the award of their masters or doctorate degree, the entity employing the resident entrepreneur shall apply to U.S. Customs and Immigration Services for a nonimmigrant visa under section 101(a)(15)(h)(i)(b) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(h)(i)(b)).
Participating entrepreneurship institutions may apply to the corporation for funds to support expenditures related to the employment of resident entrepreneurs under rules that the corporation may adopt from time to time. Said rules shall establish the terms, procedures, standards and conditions which the corporation shall employ to identify qualified programs, review and approve applications, safeguard the fund, advance the objective of increasing employment opportunities, oversee the progress of qualified programs and secure the participation of other public instrumentalities, private institutions or the federal government in such programs.
SECTION 35. Section 4 of chapter 40V of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking line 7.
SECTION 36. Section 6 of chapter 62 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph of clause (1) of subsection (g) and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
(1)A credit shall be allowed against the tax liability imposed by this chapter, to the extent authorized by the economic assistance coordinating council established in section 3B of chapter 23A, up to an amount equal to 50 per cent of such liability in any taxable year; provided, however, that the 50 per cent limitation shall not apply where the credit is refundable under paragraph (5): (i) for certified expansion projects and certified enhanced expansion projects, as defined in sections 3A and 3F of said chapter 23A, an amount up to 10 per cent, (ii) for certified manufacturing retention projects, as defined in said sections 3A and 3F of said chapter 23A, an amount up to 40 per cent of the cost of property that would qualify for the credit allowed by section 31A of chapter 63 if the property were purchased by a manufacturing corporation or a business corporation engaged primarily in research and development and used exclusively in a certified project as defined in said sections 3A and 3F of said chapter 23A; and, (iii) for certified job creation projects, as defined in said sections 3A and 3F of said chapter 23A, an amount up to $1,000 per job created, or up to $5,000 per job created in a gateway municipality as defined by section 3A of chapter 23A; provided, however, that the total award per project shall be no more than $1,000,000; and further provided that a credit under this clause (iii) shall be allowed only for the year subsequent to that in which the jobs are created. A lessee may be eligible for a credit pursuant to this subsection for real property leased pursuant to an operating lease. Notwithstanding any contrary provisions in section 3F of chapter 23A, if such property is disposed of or ceases to be in qualified use within the meaning of section 31A or ceases to be used exclusively in a certified project before the end of the certified project's certification period, or if a project’s certification is revoked, the recapture provisions of subsection (e) of section 31A shall apply; the revocation shall take effect on the first day of the tax year in which a material variance or material misrepresentation occurred as determined by the EACC. If such property is disposed of after the certified project's certification period but before the end of such property's useful life, the recapture provisions of subsection (e) of section 31A shall apply. The expiration of a certified project's certification shall not require the application of the recapture provisions of subsection (e) of section 31A.
SECTION 37. Said section 6 of chapter 62, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the fourth sentence of clause (1) of subsection (g) and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-
“To the extent applicable, paragraph (2) of section 3F of said chapter 23A shall apply to tax benefits awarded under this section.”
SECTION 38. Section 6 of said Chapter 62, as so appearing, is hereby further amended in line 169 by striking out the figure $25,000,000 and inserting in place thereof the following figure: $30,000,000.
SECTION 39. Said Section 6 of chapter 62, as so appearing, is further amended by striking out clause (2) of subsection (g) and inserting in place thereof:-
(2)Any taxpayer entitled to a credit under this subsection for any taxable year may, to the extent authorized by the economic assistance coordinating council established in section 3B of chapter 23A, carry over and apply to the tax for any one or more of the next succeeding ten taxable years, the portion, as reduced from year to year, of those credits which exceed the tax for the taxable year; provided, however, that in no event shall the taxpayer apply the credit to the tax for any taxable year beginning more than five years after the certified project or economic opportunity area ceases to qualify as such under the provisions of chapter 23A. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the EACC may limit or restrict carry-over of credits as set forth in paragraph (5) of section 3F of said chapter 23A.
SECTION 40. Said section 6 of chapter 62, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out clause (5) of subsection (g) and inserting in place thereof the following clause:-
(5)If a credit allowed under clauses (ii) and (iii) of paragraph 1 for a certified manufacturing retention project or a certified job creation project exceeds the tax otherwise due under this chapter, 100 per cent of the balance of such credit may, at the option of the taxpayer and to the extent authorized by the economic assistance coordinating council, be refundable to the taxpayer. Such refund shall be for the taxable year in which the qualified property giving rise to that credit is placed in service, in the case of a manufacturing retention project, or for the taxable year subsequent to the year in which the required jobs are added, in the case of a job creation project. If such credit balance is refunded to the taxpayer, the credit carryover provisions of paragraph (2) shall not apply.
SECTION 41. Said section 6 of Chapter 62, as so appearing, is hereby amended in line 843 by striking the figure $5,000,000 replacing it with $10,000,000.
SECTION 42. Said section 6 of Chapter 62, as so appearing, is further amended in line 848 by striking the figure $5,000,000 and replacing it with $10,000,000.
SECTION 43. Section 38M of chapter 63 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by deleting subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:--
Section 38M. (a) A business corporation shall be allowed a credit against its excise due under this chapter equal to the sum of 10 per cent of the excess, if any, of the qualified research expenses for the taxable year, over the base amount; and 15 per cent of the basic research payments determined under subsection (e)(1)(A) of section 41 of the Federal Internal Revenue Code.
(i)Other than as provided in subsection (ii), the terms, "qualified research expenses'', "basic research payment'', “credit year”, and any other terms affecting the calculation of said credit shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the same meanings as under said section 41 of said Code as amended and in effect on august 12, 1991 but shall only apply to expenditures for research conducted in the commonwealth.
(ii)For the purposes of subsection (a), the base amount shall be the product of (1) the average annual gross receipts of the taxpayer for the four taxable years preceding the credit year and (2) a fixed-base ratio. The fixed base ratio shall be the percentage which the average aggregate qualified research expenses for the taxpayer for the third and fourth taxable years preceding the credit year is of the annual average gross receipts for those years, provided that the fixed base ration shall not exceed 16 per cent.
In determining the amount of the credit allowable under this section, the commissioner of revenue may aggregate the activities of all corporations that are members of a controlled group of corporations, as defined by subsection (f)(1)(A) of section 41 of said Code, and in addition may aggregate the activities of all entities, whether or not incorporated, that are under common control, as defined by subsection (f)(1)(B) of section 41 of said Code.
SECTION 44. Section 38N of said chapter 63, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph of subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
(a)A corporation subject to tax under this chapter that participates in a certified project, as defined in sections 3A and 3F of chapter 23A, may take a credit against the excise imposed by this chapter to the extent authorized by the economic assistance coordinating council established by section 3B of said chapter 23A, in an amount not to exceed 50 per cent of such liability in a taxable year; provided, however, that the 50 per cent limitation shall not apply if the credit is refundable under subsection (b): (i) for certified expansion projects and certified enhanced expansion projects, as defined in said sections 3A and 3F of said chapter 23A, an amount up to 10 per cent; (ii) for certified manufacturing retention projects, as defined in said sections 3A and 3F of said chapter 23A, an amount up to 40 per cent of the cost of any property that would qualify for the credit allowed by section 31A if the property were purchased by a manufacturing corporation or a business corporation engaged primarily in research and development and is used exclusively in a certified project, as defined in said sections 3A and 3F of said chapter 23A; and, (iii) for certified job creation projects, as defined in said sections 3A and 3F of said chapter 23A, an amount up to $1,000 per job created, or up to $5,000 per job created in a gateway municipality as defined by section 3A of chapter 23A; provided, however, that the total award per project shall be no more than $1,000,000; and further provided that a credit under this clause (iii) shall be allowed only for the year subsequent to that in which the jobs are created. A lessee may be eligible for a credit under this subsection for real property leased under an operating lease.
SECTION 45. Section 38N of said chapter 63, as so appearing , is hereby amended in line 22 by striking out the figure, $25,000,000 and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $30,000,000.
SECTION 46. Section 38N of said chapter 63, as so appearing , is hereby amended in line 37 by striking out the figure, $5,000,000 and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $10,000,000.
SECTION 47. Said section 38N of chapter 63, as so appearing, is further amended by striking out the second to last sentence of the fourth paragraph of subsection (a) and inserting in the place thereof :-
To the extent applicable, subsection (2) of section 3F of said chapter 23A shall apply to tax benefits awarded under this section.
SECTION 48. Said section 38N of chapter 63, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(b)If a credit allowed under clauses (ii) and (iii) of subsection (a) for certified manufacturing retention projects and certified job creation projects exceeds the tax otherwise due under this chapter, 100 per cent of the balance of such credit may, at the option of the taxpayer and to the extent authorized pursuant to the economic assistance coordinating council, be refundable to the taxpayer for the taxable year in which qualified property giving rise to that credit is placed in service, in the case of a manufacturing retention project, or for the taxable year subsequent to the year in which the required jobs are added, in the case of a job creation project. If such credit balance is refunded to the taxpayer, the credit carryover provisions of subsection (d) shall not apply. The amount of credit eligible to be refunded shall be determined without regard to the limitations in subsections (a) and (c).
SECTION 49. Said chapter 63 is hereby amended by striking out section 38O, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section: -
38O. A corporation whose excise under this chapter is based on net income may, in determining such net income, deduct an amount equal to 10 per cent of the cost of renovating an abandoned building that is either located within an economic target area as defined by section 3A of chapter 23A, or part of a certified project as defined by section 3A of chapter 23A.
SECTION 50. Section 38BBof said chapter 63, as so appearing, is hereby amended in line 43 by striking out the figure $5,000,000 and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $10,000,000.
SECTION 51. Said section 38BB of chapter 63, as so appearing, is hereby further amended in line 48 by striking the figure $5,000,000 and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $10,000,000.
SECTION 52. Sections 42 and 42A of chapter 93 of the General Laws are hereby repealed.
SECTION 53. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 93J the following chapter:-
Chapter 93K.
UNIFORM TRADE SECRETS ACT
Section 1. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.
Section 2. As used in this chapter the following words, shall unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
(1)"Improper means", includes, without limitation, theft, bribery, misrepresentation, or breach or inducement of a breach of a confidential relationship or other duty to limit acquisition, disclosure or use of information;
(2)"Misappropriation",
(i)acquisition of a trade secret of another by a person who knows or who has reason to know that the trade secret was acquired by improper means; or
(ii)disclosure or use of a trade secret of another without that person's express or implied consent by a person who
(A)used improper means to acquire knowledge of the trade secret or
(B)at the time of his disclosure or use, knew or had reason to know that his knowledge of the trade secret was
[I]derived from or through a person who had utilized improper means to acquire it;
[II]acquired under circumstances giving rise to a duty to limit its acquisition, disclosure or use; or
[III]derived from or through a person who owed a duty to the person seeking relief to limit its acquisition, disclosure or use; or
(C)before a material change of his or her position, knew or had reason to know that it was a trade secret and that knowledge of it had been acquired by accident or mistake.
(3)"Person", a natural person, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision or agency, or any other legal or commercial entity.
(4)"Trade secret", specified or specifiable information, whether or not fixed in tangible form or embodied in any tangible thing, including but not limited to a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, process, business strategy, or scientific, technical, financial or customer data that
[i]at the time of alleged misappropriation, derived economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, others who might obtain economic value from its acquisition, disclosure or use; and
[ii]has at all times been the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to give notice that it should not be and to ensure that it is not acquired, disclosed or used without the consent of the person asserting ownership thereof, or such person's predecessor in interest.
Section 3. (a) Actual or threatened misappropriation may be enjoined upon equity principles, including a showing that specific information qualifying as a trade secret has been or is threatened to be misappropriated. No injunction shall issue with respect to a trade secret unless the trade secret is specified with sufficient particularity so as to enable, reasonably under the circumstances, the respondent to prepare a reasonable defense. Upon application to the court, an injunction shall be terminated when the trade secret has ceased to exist, but the injunction may be continued for an additional reasonable period of time in order to eliminate commercial advantage that otherwise would be derived from misappropriation.
(b)In exceptional circumstances, an injunction may condition future use upon payment of a reasonable royalty for no longer than the period of time for which use could have been prohibited. Exceptional circumstances include, but are not limited to, a material and prejudicial change of position prior to acquiring knowledge or reason to know of misappropriation that renders a prohibitive injunction inequitable.
(c)In appropriate circumstances, affirmative acts to protect a trade secret may be compelled by court order.
Section 4. (a) Except to the extent that a material and prejudicial change of position prior to acquiring knowledge or reason to know of misappropriation renders a monetary recovery inequitable, a complainant is entitled to recover damages for misappropriation of specific information qualifying as a trade secret. Damages can include both the actual loss caused by misappropriation and the unjust enrichment caused by misappropriation that is not taken into account in computing actual loss. In lieu of damages measured by any other methods, the damages caused by misappropriation may be measured by the imposition of liability for a reasonable royalty for a misappropriator's unauthorized disclosure or use of a trade secret.
(b)If willful and malicious misappropriation exists, the court may award exemplary damages in an amount not exceeding twice any award made under subsection (a).
Section 5. The court may award reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party if: (i) a claim of misappropriation is made or defended in bad faith, (ii) a motion to enter or to terminate an injunction is made or resisted in bad faith, or (iii) willful and malicious misappropriation exists. In considering such an award, the court may take into account the claimant’s specification of trade secrets and the proof that such alleged trade secrets were misappropriated.
Section 6. (a) In an action under this chapter, a court shall preserve the secrecy of an alleged trade secret by reasonable means, which may include granting protective orders in connection with discovery proceedings, holding in-camera hearings, sealing the records of the action, and ordering any person involved in the litigation not to disclose an alleged trade secret without prior court approval.
(b)In an action under this chapter, averments of trade secrets and misappropriation thereof shall be stated with particularity.
Section 7. An action for misappropriation shall be brought within 3 years after the misappropriation is discovered or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have been discovered. For the purposes of this section, a continuing misappropriation constitutes a single claim.
Section 8. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), this chapter shall supersede any conflicting laws of the commonwealth providing civil remedies for the misappropriation of a trade secret.
(b)This chapter shall not affect:
(1)contractual remedies, provided that, to the extent such remedies are based on or justified by confidentiality of information, such confidentiality shall be determined according to the definition of trade secret in this chapter;
(2)remedies based on submissions to governmental units;
(3)other civil remedies to the extent that they are not based upon misappropriation of a trade secret; or
(4)criminal remedies, whether or not based upon misappropriation of a trade secret.
Section 9. This chapter shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this chapter among states enacting it.
Section 10. This chapter shall not apply to misappropriation occurring prior to the effective date. With respect to a continuing misappropriation that began prior to the effective date, the chapter shall not apply to the continuing misappropriation that occurs after the effective date.
Section 11. Any written or oral contract or agreement arising out of an employment or independent contractor relationship that prohibits, impairs, restrains, restricts, or places any condition on, a person's ability to seek, engage in or accept any type of employment or independent contractor work, for any period of time after an employment or independent contractor relationship has ended, shall be void and unenforceable with respect to that restriction. This section shall not render void or unenforceable the remainder of the contract or agreement. Nor shall this section affect (i) covenants not to solicit or hire employees or independent contractors of the employer; (ii) covenants not to solicit or transact business with customers of the employer; (iii) non-disclosure agreements; (iv) noncompetition agreements made in connection with the sale of a business or substantially all of the assets of a business, when the party restricted by the noncompetition agreement is an owner of at least a 10 per cent interest of the business who received significant consideration for the sale; (v) noncompetition agreements outside of an employment relationship; (vi) forfeiture agreements; or (vii) agreements by which an employee agrees to not reapply for employment to the same employer after termination of the employee.
For the purposes of this section, chapter 149, section 148B shall control the definition of employment.
This section shall be construed liberally for the accomplishment of its purposes, and no other provision of the General Laws shall be construed in a manner that would limit its coverage. Nothing in this section shall preempt tort or contract claims, or other statutory claims, based upon an employer’s use, or attempted use, of an unlawful contract or agreement to interfere with subsequent employment or contractor work.
This section shall apply to all contracts and agreements, including those executed before the effective date of this chapter.
SECTION 54. Section 12 of chapter 138 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 63 to 65, the words “notwithstanding any limitation on the number of licenses the city or town is authorized to grant in section 17” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- pursuant to the municipal plan as required by section 17.
SECTION 55. Said section 12 of chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 89 to 90, the words “and irrespective of any limitation of number of licenses contained in section seventeen”.
SECTION 56. Said section 12 of chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the second sentence of the sixth paragraph.
SECTION 57. Said section 12 of chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 147, the words “notwithstanding section 17”.
SECTION 58. Said chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after section 13 the following section:-
Section 13A: As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:--
"Airline club'', an establishment that is not open to the general public and which is operated by or for an airline at the airport to provide exclusive or special accommodations to members and their guests in accordance with airline policy.
"Airport'', the General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport.
"Passenger terminals'', the passenger terminals and designated airline clubs within the airport.
"Restricted airport licenses'', licenses for: (i) the sale of all alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the premises within the passenger terminals; and (ii) the sale of wines and malt beverages to be drunk on the premises within the passenger terminals.
The licensing board for the city of Boston may grant restricted airport licenses to common victuallers duly licensed under chapter 140 and operating within the passenger terminals, subject to the approval of the alcoholic beverages control commission. Once issued to a licensee within the passenger terminals, the licensing board shall not approve the transfer of a restricted airport license to a location outside of the passenger terminals. A restricted airport license shall be nontransferable to any other person, corporation or organization operating outside the passenger terminals and shall be clearly marked "nontransferable outside the passenger terminals at the airport'' on its face. A restricted airport license, if revoked or no longer in use, shall be returned physically, with all of the legal rights and privileges pertaining thereto, to the licensing board which may then grant that license to a new applicant operating within the passenger terminals, consistent with this paragraph.
SECTION 59. Section 14 of said chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- “Special license for the sale of all alcoholic beverages, or wines and malt beverages only, or either of them, may, as determined by the municipality, be issued by the local licensing authorities, to the responsible manager of any indoor or outdoor activity or enterprise or to the responsible manager of any nonprofit organization conducting any indoor or outdoor activity or enterprise.
SECTION 60. Section 15 of said chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby amended inserting after the word “licenses”, in line 5, the following words:- “, pursuant to the municipal plan as required by section 17,”.
SECTION 61. Section 16A of said chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the word “so”, in line 11, and inserting in its place the words:- “as determined by a municipality to be”.
SECTION 62. Said section 16A of chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 14 and 15, the words “, to the extent that the same are issuable under section seventeen”.
SECTION 63. Said section 16A of said chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 18, the words:- “for the purposes of section seventeen”.
SECTION 64. Said chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out section 17 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
section 17: A city or town shall determine the number of all alcoholic beverage or wine and malt beverage licenses issued by its local licensing authority under sections 12, 14, 15, and 15F, including the number of seasonal licenses.
Communities that seek to grant additional licenses on or after July 1, 2014 shall adopt a plan that is approved by the mayor, city council or board of selectman. Said plan shall determine the process of granting additional licenses; provided that: (1) a minimum of 1 public hearing regarding the plan is conducted by the city council, board of selectman or the governing body in said city or town; and (2) the city or town notify the ABCC of said public hearing.
The governing body of each city or town shall hold a public hearing, within 30 days of the date of the license application, regarding said application.
Unless expressly authorized by this chapter, local licensing authorities shall not grant licenses to any person, firm or corporation under more than one section of this chapter.
On or after July 1, 2014, the current number of licenses shall continue unless changed by the local governing body of each city or town under this section.
SECTION 65. Section 29 of said chapter 138, as so appearing,, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 20 to 23, inclusive, the words “; but a license issued to a registered pharmacist under said section shall be included in computing the number of licenses that may be granted in any city or town as provided in section seventeen”
SECTION 66. Sections 17A to 17C, inclusive, of said chapter 138 are hereby repealed.
SECTION 67. Subsection (d) of section 7 of chapter 293 of the acts of 2006, as amended by section 7 of chapter 129 of the acts of 2008, as amended by section 61 of chapter 238 of the Acts of 2012 is hereby further amended by striking out the figure "325,000,000" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- "$600,000,000, excluding bonds issued to refinance bonds previously issued under section 6; provided further that the secretary shall not approve more than 31 per cent of the total amount for projects, in the aggregate, for any one municipality."
SECTION 68. The second sentence of subsection (e) of said section 7 of said chapter 293, as appearing in section 7 of said chapter 129, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the figure "3" and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- "8".
SECTION 69. Sections 2, 3, 5, 6, 9 and 10 of chapter 193 of the acts of 2011 are hereby repealed.
SECTION 70. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Economic Development Projects Fund, in this section called the Fund. Not later than June 30, 2014, the comptroller shall transfer $80,000,000 from the General Fund to the Fund. To the extent that available revenues are not sufficient to support this transfer, the secretary of administration and finance shall direct the comptroller to retain in the General Fund amounts that would otherwise be transferred under the last paragraph of section 2H of chapter 29 of the General Laws. Amounts credited to the Fund shall be expended, subject to appropriation, for the purposes of this act. The Fund shall expire on June 30, 2017, and any balance shall revert to the General Fund.
SECTION 71. Not later than June 30, 2014, the comptroller shall transfer $5,000,000 to the Housing Preservation and Stabilization Trust, established by section 60 of chapter 121B of the General Laws, from the Economic Development Projects Fund, established by SECTION 70 of this act.
SECTION 72. Sections 38, 41, 42, 45, 46, 50, and 51 of this act shall be effective for tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2015.
SECTION 73. As of January 1, 2019, SECTIONS, 41, 42, 46, 50 and 51 of this act are hereby amended by striking out the number “10,000,000” and inserting in its place the number “5,000,000”.
SECTION 74. As of January 1, 2019, SECTIONS 38 and 45 of this act are hereby amended by striking out the number “30,000,000” and inserting in its place the number “25,000,000”.
