Section 5: Life sciences investment program; company certification; benefits eligibility; tax incentives; revocation of certification; capital funding
Section 5. (a) There shall be established a commonwealth life sciences investment program which shall be administered by the center. The purpose of the program shall be to expand life sciences-related employment opportunities in the commonwealth and to promote health-related innovations by supporting and stimulating research and development, manufacturing and commercialization in the life sciences. Life sciences companies certified pursuant to subsection (b) shall be eligible for participation in the program.
(b) The center may, upon a majority vote of the board, certify a life sciences company as a certified life sciences company upon: (i) the timely receipt, as determined by the center, of a certification proposal supported by independently verifiable information, signed under the pains and penalties of perjury by a person expressly authorized to contract on behalf of the life sciences company and which shall include, but not be limited to: (A) an estimate of the projected new state revenue the life sciences company expects to generate during the period for which the company seeks certification, together with a plan, including precise goals and objectives, by which the life sciences company proposes to achieve the projected new state revenue, including for each tax year, an estimate of new commercial revenue that the commonwealth would not otherwise have received, an estimate of the number of permanent full-time employees to be hired or retained, an estimate of the year in which the company expects to hire or retain the employees, an estimate of the projected average salaries of said employees, an estimate of the projected taxable income pursuant to chapter 62 or 63 generated by said employees and an estimate of the methods by which the company shall obtain new employees and pursue a diverse workforce; (B) documentation of an agreement, if any, between the life sciences company and banking institutions with which the life science company shall have agreed to establish accounts and by which the banking institutions shall have agreed to commit a specified percentage of the funds deposited in the accounts for loans made thereby to companies under the small business capital access program established pursuant to section 57 of chapter 23A; and (C) if appropriate, documentation that the life sciences company has received approval for a certified project, pursuant to section 3F of chapter 23A; and (ii) findings made by the center, based on the certification proposal, documents submitted therewith and any additional investigation by the center, and incorporated in its approval, that: (A) the life sciences company shall meet all statutory requirements and any other criteria that the center may prescribe including, but not limited to criteria in the following areas: whether the life sciences company has sufficient business contacts with the commonwealth as evidenced by its business activity within the commonwealth including, but not limited to, the number of full-time employees employed in the commonwealth; the life sciences company's potential to further technological advancements in the life sciences; the life sciences company's potential to offer a breakthrough medical treatment for a particular disease, or medical condition; the life sciences company's potential for leveraging additional funding or attracting additional resources to the commonwealth; the life sciences company's potential to promote life sciences manufacturing in the commonwealth; and evidence of potential royalty income and contractual means to recapture such income for the purposes of this chapter, as the center considers appropriate; and (B) a certified life sciences company shall meet the new state revenue and employment growth projections, as specified in the certification proposal, over the period for which it receives benefits.
[ Subsection (c) effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2017. See 2016, 219, Sec. 139.]
(c) A certified life sciences company may, upon a majority vote of the board, be eligible for the following benefits which shall be awarded by the board on a competitive basis: (1) benefits from the life sciences tax incentive program established by subsection (d); (2) grants, loans or other investments from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Investment Fund established by section 6; (3) equity investments from the Dr. Craig C. Mello Small Business Equity Investment Fund established by section 7; (4) assistance from the regional technology and innovation centers established by section 11; (5) assistance from the center to obtain designation as a certified project as defined in section 3A of chapter 23A; (6) assistance from the center in accessing economic incentive programs within the Massachusetts office of business development, including access to the technical, human, financial, training, educational and site-finding resources necessary to expand or locate in the commonwealth; (7) assistance from the center in obtaining federal grants; (8) assistance from the center in facilitating clinical trials; (9) preference for funding for life science job training programs; or (10) preference for pre-permitted industrial land as identified by the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency.
(d) There shall be established a life sciences tax incentive program. The center, in consultation with the department, may annually authorize incentives, including incentives carried forward or refunded pursuant to subsections (m), (n) and (r) of section 6 of chapter 62, paragraph 17 of section 30 of chapter 63, the second time it appears, section 31M of said chapter 63, the second time it appears, paragraph 6 of subsection (f) of section 38 of said chapter 63, subsection (j) of section 38M of said chapter 63, section 38U of said chapter 63, section 38V of said chapter 63, section 38W of said chapter 63, section 38CC of said chapter 63, the second paragraph of subsection (c) of section 42B of said chapter 63 and subsection (xx) of section 6 of chapter 64H in a cumulative amount, including the current year cost of incentives allowed in previous years, that shall not exceed $30,000,000 annually. The center may, in consultation with the department, limit any incentive to a specific dollar amount or time duration or in any other manner deemed appropriate by the department; provided, however, that the department shall only allocate any such incentives among commonwealth certified life sciences companies pursuant to subsection (b) and shall award such tax incentives pursuant to subsection (c).
The center shall provide an estimate to the secretary of administration and finance of the tax cost of extending benefits to a proposed project before certification, as approved by the commissioner of revenue, based on reasonable projections of project activities and costs. Tax incentives shall not be available to a certified life sciences company unless expressly granted by the secretary of administration and finance in writing.
(e)(1) Certification granted pursuant to subsection (b) shall be valid for 5 years starting with the tax year in which certification is granted. Each certified life sciences company shall file an annual report with the center detailing whether it has met the specific targets established in the proposal pursuant to subclause (A) of clause (i) of subsection (b).
(2) The certification of a life sciences company may be revoked by the center after an independent investigation and determination that representations made by the certified life sciences company in its certification proposal are materially at variance with the conduct of the life sciences company after receiving certification; provided, however, that the center shall review the certified life sciences company at least annually; provided, further, that a project with an actual return on investment that is less than 70 per cent of the return on investment projected in the certification proposal shall be deemed to contain a material variance for a revocation determination. If the center determines not to revoke certification upon a finding that the actual return on investment for the project is less than 70 per cent, the center shall provide its reasons for the decision in writing to the secretary of administration and finance, the commissioner of revenue and the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, who shall forward the same to the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on revenue and the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies. The center shall post these reasons on the internet for public access.
(3) Under this subsection, revocation shall take effect on the first day of the tax year in which the center determines that a material variance commenced. The commissioner of revenue shall, as of the effective date of the revocation, disallow any credits, exemptions or other tax benefits allowed by the original certification of tax benefits under this section. The department shall issue regulations to recapture the value of any credits, exemptions or other tax benefits allowed by the certification under this section; provided, however, that the recapture provisions in subsection (m) of section 6 of chapter 62 and section 38U of chapter 63 shall apply. If the original certification allowed sales and use tax exemptions pursuant to subsection (xx) of section 6 of chapter 64H, the purchaser shall accrue use tax as of the date of revocation on a portion of the sales price on which exemption was claimed that is proportionate to the remaining useful life of the property.
(4) Nothing in this subsection shall limit any legal remedies available to the commonwealth against any certified life sciences company.
(f) Capital funding may be revoked only by the center after an independent investigation and determination that representations made by the life sciences company in its certification proposal are materially at variance with the conduct of the life sciences company after certification; provided, further, that a life sciences company generating less than 70 per cent of the projected new state revenue in the certification proposal shall be deemed to contain a material variance for the purposes of a revocation determination. If the center does not revoke certification despite said material variance, the center shall provide its reasons for the decision in writing to the secretary of administration and finance, the commissioner of revenue and the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, who shall forward the same to the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on bonding, capital expenditures and state assets and the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies. A notice of revocation under this subsection shall specify the date on which the revocation is effective, which shall be the date of the notice or the date on which the center determined that the material variance commenced. The secretary of administration and finance shall, as of the effective date of the revocation, disallow any loans, grants or other benefits allowed by the original certification under this section. The department may issue regulations to recapture any grants or loans allowed by the certification under this section.
(g) The center shall revoke the certification of a life sciences company when independent investigations conducted in 2 consecutive years determine that representations made by the life sciences company in its project proposal are deemed materially at variance, pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (e) or subsection (f).
[ Subsection (h) effective until May 30, 2023. For text effective May 30, 2023, see below.]
(h) The board, in consultation with the executive office of administration and finance and the executive office of housing and economic development, shall promulgate rules, regulations or guidelines necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
[ Subsection (h) as amended by 2023, 7, Sec. 135 effective May 30, 2023. See 2023, 7, Sec. 298. For text effective until May 30, 2023, see above.]
(h) The board, in consultation with the executive office of administration and finance and the executive office of economic development, shall promulgate rules, regulations or guidelines necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.