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Massachusetts House Announces $110M Plan to Encourage TBED

July 11, 2003
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Details on a $110 million initiative to create more jobs and stimulate the Massachusetts economy were released yesterday by Massachusetts House Speaker Tom Finneran and other state leaders. The initiative, Mass Jobs: Investment and Opportunity, is an innovation-friendly plan to streamline government functions and encourage growth in emerging technology through capital formation, regional development, and stability in regulation and taxation. The House proposes to recapitalize these funds from the Health Care Security Trust Fund.

The proposal includes:

  • Re-capitalization of the Emerging Technology Fund. Administered by MassDevelopment, this proposal would use targeted financial assistance of $55 million to create new jobs. The majority of these funds would be used for "bricks and mortar" investments that can be targeted specifically on technology-based physical infrastructure, making for a permanent development and manufacturing presence in Massachusetts.
  • John Adams Innovation Enterprise. Administered by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, this $40 million initiative would leverage long-term, public and private sector investment in enabling innovation technologies and core technology platforms. The Enterprise has two fundamental components:
    • The Matching Fund for Collaborative Academic Research Centers ($25 million) to attract federal research support and private sector investment for industry-university academic research centers.
    • The Technology Sector Growth Initiative ($15 million) to drive new economic growth through the types of public investments that underwrite the formation of core technologies. The Initiative would provide dedicated infrastructure support for emerging technology and regional industry clusters in the Commonwealth.
  • Re-capitalization of the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation. Through the commitment of $5 million, this funding would supplement the state's quasi-public development agency as it provides long-term capital investment in 15-20 emerging technology companies.
  • Recapitalization of the state's Economic Stabilization Trust. The proposal allocates $2 million for the Trust, which provides direct loans and guarantees to small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses. This financial assistance would help companies meet the challenges of modernization and competition in the global marketplace.
  • Investment Tax Credit Permanence to help ensure industry growth and development in Massachusetts.

More information on these and other initiatives outlined in Mass Jobs: Investment and Opportunity is available at http://www.tomfinneran.com/.

Massachusetts