Amendment 1

SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2531

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

_______________

SENATE, Tuesday, May 29, 2018

The committee on Ways and Means, to whom was referred the House Bill providing continued investment in the life sciences industry in the Commonwealth (House, No. 4501); reports, recommending that the same ought to pass with an amendment striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in place thereof the text of Senate document numbered 2531.

For the committee,
Karen E. Spilka

SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2531

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

_______________

SECTION 1. To provide for a program of economic development and job creation, the sum set forth in section 2, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this act, is hereby made available, subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds; provided, however, that the amounts specified in an item or for a particular project may be adjusted in order to facilitate projects authorized in this act. This sum shall be in addition to any amounts previously authorized and made available for these purposes.

SECTION 2.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Massachusetts Life Sciences Center

7002-0015. For the Massachusetts Life Sciences Investment Fund established by section 6 of chapter 23I of the General Laws to achieve continued job growth through capital grants that advance education, workforce development, early-stage company growth through spaces dedicated to life sciences companies, advanced bio-manufacturing and scientific innovation; provided, however, that not less than $47,000,000 shall be expended for design, construction, development and related infrastructure improvements, including equipment, for an integrated biotechnology and precision manufacturing research and training facility at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to meet workforce demands relative to the intersecting areas of medical devices, biotechnology and digital health in collaboration with industry; provided, however, that said funds shall not be used for faculty salaries; provided further, that not less than $20,000,000 shall be expended for the design, construction, development and related infrastructure improvements, including equipment, for a center for nursing innovation to be constructed at the University of Massachusetts at Boston to provide students and practitioners access to state-of-the art simulation labs and clinical training and research spaces; provided, however, that said funds shall not be used for faculty salaries; provided further, that not less than $21,750,000 shall be expended for expansion and renovation of the center for advanced bio-manufacturing and digital health at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth to support teaching and research in the areas of rapid prototyping and micro-fabrication, including 2 digital health facilities in the areas of health data visualization and bioinformatics and sequencing, as well as the renovation and expansion of laboratories to enable increased enrollment; provided, however, that said funds shall not be used for faculty salaries; provided further, that not less than $50,000,000 shall be expended for the renovation and related infrastructure improvements, including equipment, for a joint proposal between the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and the University of Massachusetts medical school to advance neuroscience-related workforce training, research and commercialization of devices and image-based diagnostics relative to neuro-imaging and neuro-informatics across the commonwealth; provided, however, that said funds shall not be used for faculty salaries; provided further, that not less than $6,000,000 shall be expended for the development and related infrastructure improvements, including equipment, for the center for data-driven discovery and healthcare at the University of Massachusetts medical school to advance mobile health and digital technologies through the creation of the Massachusetts living lab, which shall include a physical and virtual environment to support the implementation and development of these goals through collaboration with industry partners, higher education institutions and medical facilities; provided, however, that said funds shall not be used for faculty salaries; provided further, that not less than $5,000,000 shall be expended for the development of a bio-manufacturing platform by the University of Massachusetts medical school for cell and gene therapies at the MassBiologics SouthCoast facility located in the city of Fall River to advance workforce training and innovative processes relative to cell and gene therapy bio-manufacturing; provided, however, that said funds shall not be used for faculty salaries; provided further, that no funds shall be transferred from this item for capital projects until the secretary of administration and finance certifies in writing to the board of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center established by section 3 of said chapter 23I and to the house and senate committees on ways and means that all sources of funding for that phase of the project have been committed and are available as necessary for commencement of said capital projects; provided further, that said written certification shall include copies of all business plans, letters of financial commitment and other documentation as the secretary and the board deem necessary to certify that all other sources of funding have been secured; and provided further, that funds appropriated for the design, construction and related infrastructure improvements at the University of Massachusetts medical school, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, University of Massachusetts at Boston, University of Massachusetts at Lowell and University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth shall be transferred to the University of Massachusetts Building Authority for these capital projects; provided, further, that not less than $5,000,000 shall be expended for grants to promote regionally-based efforts to increase life sciences, advanced bio-manufacturing and scientific innovation throughout the commonwealth that shall be distributed in collaboration with regional economic development organizations, as provided for in section 3K of chapter 23A of the General Laws, and ensure that grants shall be based on regional and employer needs and include a public and private partnership; provided further, that not less than $12,000,000 shall be expended for grants to community colleges established by section 5 of chapter 15A of the General Laws or vocational technical schools, as defined in section 2 of said chapter 23I, that collaborate with the center and at least 1 advanced bio-manufacturing or life science company to address regional workforce demands and increase regional employment opportunities in the areas of biotechnology and life sciences through a technical education program, workforce development education and training program or an apprenticeship program ……………………………………….….………....$462,970,000

SECTION 3. To meet the expenditures necessary in carrying out section 2, the state treasurer shall, upon receipt of a request by the governor, issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth in an amount to be specified by the governor, from time to time, but not exceeding, in the aggregate, $462,970,000. All bonds issued by the commonwealth, as aforesaid, shall be designated on their face, Life Sciences Center Capital Improvement Loan Act of 2018, and shall be issued for a maximum term of years, not exceeding 30 years, as recommended by the governor in a message to the general court dated June 19, 2017, under Section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution; provided, however that all such bonds shall be payable not later than June 30, 2053. All interest and payments on account of principal on such obligations shall be payable from the General Fund. Bonds and interest thereon issued under the authority of this section shall, notwithstanding any other provisions of this act, be general obligations of the commonwealth.

SECTION 4. Section 5 of chapter 23I of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 92, the figure “$25,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $30,000,000.

SECTION 5. Section 6 of chapter 62 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out, in line 940, as so appearing, the figure “$25,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $30,000,000.

SECTION 6. Section 38CC of chapter 63 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 20, the figure “$25,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $30,000,000.

SECTION 7. Chapter 130 of the acts of 2008 is hereby amended by striking out section 49 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 49. The value of any tax incentive award under the life sciences tax incentive program established in subsection (d) of section 5 of chapter 23I of the General Laws that extends beyond December 31, 2028, including carry-forwards of losses or credits, shall be taken into account during the year awarded and the full amount of such tax benefits potentially realized in periods after December 31, 2028 shall be counted against the annual ceilings for years ending prior to January 1, 2029. Tax incentives authorized pursuant to the life sciences tax incentive program shall count toward the $30,000,000 annual ceiling only if they are not otherwise available to a taxpayer.

SECTION 8. Section 54 of said chapter 130, as most recently amended by section 57 of chapter 46 of the acts of 2013, is hereby further amended by striking out the figure “2018” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2028.

SECTION 9. To provide for the continued availability of a bond-funded spending authorization that otherwise would expire, the balance of item 7002-0015 and any allocations thereof shall be extended to June 30, 2023 for the purposes of, and subject to, the conditions stated for the item in the original authorization, as amended to date.

SECTION 10. Sections 4 to 7, inclusive, shall take effect on January 1, 2019.