SECTION 1: Subsection (f) of section 6 of chapter 62 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the second, third, and fourth paragraphs, and inserting in place thereof the following paragraphs:-

Any business which (a) has 26 or more full-time equivalent employees unrelated to its owners or partners but no more than 50 of such employees calculated on an average annual basis, (b) makes qualifying health insurance premium expenditures for a health insurance plan covering its employees in each year, and (c) the average income of full-time equivalent employees is at or below $57,000 per year, indexed annually for inflation beginning in the year 2021 shall be allowed a credit against its income tax due under this chapter in any year in which unemployment in the commonwealth meets or exceeds 5 per cent and the following year thereafter.

The amount of such credit in the tax year in which it is taken shall be 15 per cent of the entire amount of the qualifying health insurance premium expenditure made by such business in such tax year.  To qualify for such credits, the health insurance premium expenditure of such business must equal at least 50 per cent of the total cost of the premiums for such health insurance plan and such health insurance plan must be available to all of the full-time employees of such business. For the purposes of this section, "unrelated'' shall mean not having the familial relationship of spouse, mother, father, or child.

SECTION 2: Chapter 176J, of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after section 6 the following section:-

Section 6A. Review of small business health insurance affordability and cooperatives

The commissioner shall evaluate the effectiveness of purchasing cooperatives in increasing the affordability of health insurance premiums, current impact of health insurance costs on small businesses, and recommendations for improved affordability and small business leverage in insurance purchasing. The commissioner must include representation from a diverse set of small businesses in its evaluation. The commissioner shall report its findings and recommendations biannually. Such report shall be filed with the clerk of the senate on or before the first day of July with the findings of the task force evaluations as previously outlined and such report shall contain analysis of the effectiveness of purchasing cooperatives in increasing the affordability of health insurance premiums, current impact of health insurance costs on small businesses, and recommendations for improving affordability and small business leverage in health insurance purchasing.

SECTION 3: This act shall take effect upon its passage.