Amendment ID: S2842-228
Amendment 228
Establishing one-stop shop web portal and interactive database for small business assistance
Ms. DiZoglio and Mr. Fattman move that the proposed new text be amended by adding the following new sections:-
SECTION XXXX. Chapter 9 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 31 the following section:-
Section 32: MassMakers Portal
Section 32. (a) In the near-term to address disruptions caused by the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, and the effects of the governor’s March 10, 2020, declaration of a state of emergency, and in the long-term to facilitate the commonwealth’s economic recovery and future growth, there is hereby established a one-stop shop interactive web portal to be known as the MassMakers Portal for prospective and established businesses in the commonwealth. The state secretary, the executive office for administration and finance, the executive offices of education, energy and environmental affairs, health and human services, housing and economic development, labor and workforce development, public safety and security, and technology services and security, and the department of revenue shall jointly develop and implement the MassMakers Portal, which shall serve as a single, unified entry point for prospective and established businesses to obtain local business information and execute all statutory and regulatory compliance tasks required by the commonwealth in connection with the creation, continuing operation, or upscaling of business.
(b) In order to develop and implement the MassMakers Portal, the agencies identified in subsection (a) shall assemble a task force which shall consist of the state secretary, ex officio, or a designee, the secretaries of administration and finance, education, energy and environmental affairs, health and human services, housing and economic development, labor and workforce development, public safety and security, and technology services and security, ex officio, or their designees, the commissioner of revenue, ex officio, or a designee; 7 persons appointed by the attorney general, 1 of whom shall be from each of the 7 regions of the commonwealth: the western region, the central region, the northeast region, the Merrimack Valley, the metro west region, the Greater Boston region, and the southeast region; and 7 persons appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be from each of the 7 identified regions of the commonwealth. The governor, attorney general, state treasurer, and co-chairs of the task force shall have the discretion to appoint other members to the task force by majority vote. Persons appointed to the task force shall be members or representatives of the business community, including entrepreneurs, microbusiness owners, minority business owners and small business owners, and/or have demonstrated interests and experience in state agency processes, business regulations, web portal design and implementation, and/or other qualifications and experience that the appointing authorities determine are necessary to fulfilling the mission of the task force. Members shall be selected without regard to political affiliation, shall as fully as possible represent a diverse and equitable array of stakeholders, and shall serve without compensation. The state secretary, or a designee from among the members of the task force, and the secretary of housing and economic development, or a designee from among the members of the task force, shall serve as co-chairs.
(c) The task force shall perform a needs and cost assessment and may, subject to appropriation and the laws and regulations pertaining to the employment of consultants, employ such consultants as the task force deems necessary to assist in the execution of said assessment. Said assessment shall be completed and the results thereof shall be presented to the governor and the general court by March 1, 2021, to inform the budget of the next legislative session. The assessment shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) recommendations on the location, design, functionality and scope of services of the MassMakers Portal, which at a minimum shall include:
(i) online account services through which businesses can monitor deadlines for submission of forms, documents and payments, as well as compliance status and standing with each state agency;
(ii) electronic applications for licenses and renewals thereof;
(iii) electronic payment options for fees and taxes incident to the creation, continuing operation or upscaling of business;
(iv) compliance alerts in connection with new or revised state statutes, regulations and procedures;
(v) toolkits and video tutorials on all aspects of starting a business in the commonwealth, operating a business, upscaling a business, completing forms and complying with state statutory and regulatory requirements in connection therewith;
(vi) Supply Mass/Buy Mass information, and coordination with Supply Mass/Buy Mass online services;
(vii) Mass Main Streets information, and coordination with Mass Main Streets online services; and
(viii) technical assistance resources;
(2) an estimate of the costs of full implementation of the MassMakers Portal, including, but not limited to, those associated with technology, infrastructure, operations and maintenance, sharing and coordination of agency data, and security;
(3) recommendations for and an estimate of the costs of establishing and maintaining a help center staffed with persons trained to answer questions and assist with navigation of the MassMakers Portal;
(4) recommendations on the time-line for designing, developing and testing the MassMakers Portal, which at the latest shall have its first testing phase for the state secretary’s office to process new business registrations and associated fee payments by December 31, 2021, and shall have its second testing phase to submit tax payments with the department of revenue by December 31, 2022;
(5) recommendations as to the roles of the agencies identified in subsection (a) regarding ongoing operational management of the MassMakers Portal;
(6) a comprehensive analysis of the processes of all state agencies with respect to the creation, continued operation or upscaling of businesses located in the commonwealth, with a goal of simplifying and streamlining regulatory tasks and forms required by said agencies and strengthening the delivery of services provided by said agencies to entrepreneurs, microbusinesses, small businesses, and other businesses in the commonwealth;
(7) identification of any state statutory, regulatory or procedural changes that need to be made to effectuate the functionality of the MassMakers Portal;
(8) identification of existing entrepreneurial, microbusiness, small business, and other business assets, resources, web content and functions provided by state agencies to coordinate and incorporate such assets, resources, web content and functions into the MassMakers Portal;
(9) identification of potential impediments to functionality posed by federal law, if any, and recommendations for work-arounds or solutions to such impediments;
(10) the impact of prioritizing microbusiness applications and account services; and
(11) recommendations on potential incentives to encourage municipalities or regional planning authorities to create local portals for similar purposes or committed to similar mission outcomes as the MassMakers Portal, with the option of linking to or being incorporated into the MassMakers Portal.
(d) The task force may, subject to appropriation, appoint and may remove all such employees as may be necessary to carry out the work of designing and implementing the MassMakers Portal based on the results of the needs and cost assessment. Unless otherwise provided by law, all such appointments and removals of employees shall be made under chapter 31.
(e) The state secretary shall hold as a separate fund and may expend such sums as may be appropriated for the MassMakers Portal by the general court, and may accept gifts, donations, grants or bequests or any federal funds for any of the purposes set forth in this section, which shall be credited to the fund. All available money in the fund that is unexpended at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure by the task force in the subsequent fiscal year.
(f) The state secretary is hereby authorized to promulgate regulations to assure the timely and effective implementation of this section.
SECTION XXXX. Chapter 23A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 10A and inserting the following section:-
Section 10A: Supply Mass/Buy Mass; MassMade
Section 10A. (a) In the near-term to address disruptions caused by the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, and the effects of the governor’s March 10, 2020, declaration of a state of emergency, and in the long-term for the commonwealth to execute on its responsibility of facilitating expansion of the local economy, MOBD shall establish a program to be known as Supply Mass/Buy Mass for the purpose of connecting local suppliers with local purchasers, whether public or private, institutional, commercial or individual. In implementing said program, MOBD shall:
(1) establish requirements for local suppliers to register as MassMade businesses with Supply Mass/Buy Mass;
(2) design and implement a Supply Mass/Buy Mass interactive web portal through which local suppliers can register as MassMade businesses and create MassMade business profiles with industry-specific information;
(3) assemble a searchable database of MassMade businesses through the portal by industry, raw materials produced or products or goods manufactured, and other identifying characteristics, with specific search features independently tailored toward local institutional purchasers, commercial purchasers, and individual purchasers;
(4) develop toolkits and training videos available through the portal to guide MassMade businesses to better understand the needs and procurement processes of local institutional and commercial purchasers;
(5) enable local institutional and commercial purchasers to issue requests for proposals through the portal and MassMade businesses to respond to such requests through the portal;
(6) promote live networking events through the portal to connect MassMade businesses with local institutional and commercial purchasers;
(7) determine those raw materials, products or goods needed by local institutional and commercial purchasers currently purchased outside the commonwealth or from foreign countries, especially raw materials, products or goods required for the first time; inquire whether other local institutional or commercial purchasers are in need of such raw materials, products or goods; assess whether any MassMade businesses are capable of producing or manufacturing the needed raw materials, products or goods with additional capital or retooling;
(8) coordinate and connect the portal with the MassMakers Portal;
(9) identify other obstacles to conducting business in the commonwealth and advance resources through the portal to address those obstacles to the extent possible;
(10) promote public-private partnerships;
(11) develop, evaluate and recommend policies, initiatives and incentives to prevent consumer flight from local suppliers in the cities and towns of the Merrimack Valley and other border municipalities to suppliers in New Hampshire or other tax advantaged states or from other sources; and
(12) undertake any other activities necessary to implement the purposes of this section.
Dedicated effort shall be made to encourage diversity and advance equity based on race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, disability, and language in implementing Supply Mass/Buy Mass.
(b) MOBD may consult with and seek input from interested stakeholders and shall work with entities including MassMade businesses, regional economic development organizations, microbusiness and small business associations, chambers of commerce, the supplier diversity office, the Massachusetts marketing partnership and the office of consumer affairs and business regulations in order to collect and provide business and product information related to MassMade businesses. All Supply Mass/Buy Mass information shall be readily accessible and free to the public.
(c) MOBD shall hold as a separate fund and may expend such sums as may be appropriated for Supply Mass/Buy Mass by the general court, and may accept gifts, donations, grants or bequests or any federal funds for any of the purposes set forth in this section, which shall be credited to the fund. All available money in the fund that is unexpended at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure by MOBD for Supply Mass/Buy Mass in the subsequent fiscal year.
(d) MOBD is hereby authorized to promulgate regulations to assure the timely and effective implementation of this section.