Today, the Chamber released the Massachusetts May 2009 Massachusetts Jobs Update, showing the first monthly job gain since May 2008. You can access the Jobs Update by clicking on the link below:

May 2009 Massachusetts Jobs Update

The Greater Boston Chamber works to improve the region’s economy and drive job growth, focusing on four goals— strengthening the workforce; making the business climate more competitive; enhancing critical industries; and fixing infrastructure. The Chamber's agenda includes the following priority issues:

• Transportation:  Closing the transportation financing gap by supporting the enactment and implementation of recent structural reform and funding measures.
• State Fiscal Policy:  Strengthening long-term state budget planning by supporting, and working to further expand, the transfer of substantial capital gains revenue growth to the Rainy Day Fund.
• Health Care Costs:  Working to advance cost-containment measures that improve health care system efficiency while preserving access to care.

Headlines from the May 2009 Massachusetts Jobs Update include:

• Massachusetts added 4,900 jobs last month; first monthly job gain since May 2008
• Massachusetts remains 195,000 jobs below previous peak; lowest employment since February 2008
• State leisure & hospitality jobs ranked 31st among states last 12 months

You can find all of the 2008-2009 monthly Massachusetts Jobs Update documents archived on the Chamber’s website, bostonchamber.com.

 

 

The Chamber supports several measures included in the conference committee budget released by House and Senate negotiators, including the designation of $275 million for transportation and the dedication of capital gains revenue to the Rainy Day Fund.

 

Coupled with the transportation reforms enacted by both branches of the legislature yesterday, the designation of $275 million for transportation will help alleviate the system’s immediate budget troubles.  These funds will help secure the state’s obligation to bondholders, while also delaying toll hikes and MBTA fare increases.  The Chamber will continue to work with administration officials and legislative leaders on further system reforms and a more permanent solution to the revenue shortfall.

 

The Chamber believes that the budget proposal transferring a significant portion of new capital gains revenue growth to the Rainy Day Fund is a step in the right direction.  This measure will strengthen the reserve fund, and lessen our reliance on volatile capital gains revenue to fund general expenditures.  The more capital gains revenue that can be deposited into the Rainy Day Fund in the years ahead, the better equipped we will be to preserve critical programs, avert tax increases, and weather future recessions.
 
Learn more about the Chamber's public policy initiatives at bostonchamber.com.

 

The Chamber applauds Mayor Menino’s support for increasing the number of charter schools in order to change the status quo in education.  The Mayor proposed the creation of “in-district” charter schools in Boston, and said that if such a proposal was not authorized he would support lifting the cap on charter schools.  Increasing the number of charter schools has long been supported by the Chamber and the employer community as vital to development of the state’s workforce.

Charter schools offer new educational opportunities and provide encouragement to parents and educators seeking greater creativity and flexibility.   They have also proven to be an effective tool in closing the achievement gap between low-income and minority students and their peers, a critical issue for schools in urban areas throughout the state. 

The Chamber will continue to work with the Mayor and legislative leaders in the coming weeks and months to ensure continued support for and expansion of the charter school model.

Read more about the Chamber's recent work on charter schools here.

Last month, the Chamber submitted testimony to the Joint Committee on Education in favor of legislation that would lift the cap on charter schools and expand opportunities for students throughout Greater Boston.

Despite their documented success, charter school expansion is presently slowed by a cap that limits student access and constrains innovation. Lifting the cap will offer new educational opportunities and provide encouragement to parents and educators seeking greater creativity and flexibility.

Charter schools have proven to be an effective tool in closing the achievement gap between low-income and minority students and their peers. A recent study released by The Boston Foundation found that students in Boston charter schools consistently outperformed their peers in traditional public schools. The results in math achievement for middle-school students are particularly compelling: the study estimates that the benefit of a single year spent in a charter school was equivalent to closing half of the black-white achievement gap. Similar results of a recent New York study are equally compelling.

In addition, during the recent Senate budget debate, the Chamber and other groups urged Senate support for a measure that would maintain the existing charter school funding mechanism. The Chamber will continue to work with legislative leaders in the coming weeks to ensure continued support for and expansion of the charter school model.

View the Chamber's complete policy agenda here.

The Chamber testified last month on proposed amendments to the Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Regulation (310 CMR 7.71).

Massachusetts energy costs remain among the very highest in the nation – a competitive disadvantage which continues to impact businesses of all size and industry and hinder job growth and expansion in the Commonwealth. This cost structure could be further impacted by the implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008 in the months ahead. As a result, this regulatory process must be viewed in part through the lens of its impact on the regulatory burden and business costs borne by Massachusetts employers.

The Chamber supports revisions to the regulation, including changes to the stationary source reporting requirements, annual air emissions data reports, and verification of facility reports, which would help to facilitate implementation for both regulated entities and the state.  

Adoption of these revisions could help to lower the cost of compliance and preserve regulatory and legislative intent, without further impacting the competitiveness of our economy, job market, or energy cost structure. The Chamber will continue working with the DEP and stakeholders as this important process moves forward.

View the Chamber's complete policy agenda here.

Data privacy regulation will impact companies of all sizes and industries at a time of widespread budgetary constraints and accelerating revenue and job loss. The cost and operational burden of any new business regulation must be viewed, in part, through this lens. Yet ensuring data protection is a goal shared by all – and the Chamber believes this issue can be addressed without significantly impacting the competitiveness of the state. As such, the Chamber will continue working to advance data privacy policy that protects personal information and the Massachusetts economy.

Last month, the Chamber testified in favor of Senate Bill 173, which would help to protect critical data by:

• Aligning state data protection policy with federal regulation to establish a consistent regulatory regime and facilitate compliance for Massachusetts employers;
• Providing flexibility in technology, enabling employers to utilize a variety of next-generation technologies and methods to meet their data protection requirements;
• Requiring scalability in the regulation to avoid a costly and cumbersome one-size-fits-all approach to compliance; and
• Creating separate regulations for small businesses to reflect their unique cost, resource and data situations and employ a more risk-based approach to compliance.

The Chamber believes Senate Bill 173 captures the essence of sound data protection policy. To bring outliers up to industry standard, rather than penalizing those companies already employing best practices. To reflect the time, expense, and resource required of regulated companies seeking to comply, rather than heaping costly, process-laden requirements onto companies amidst an economic crisis. 

View the Chamber's complete policy agenda here.

The Chamber recently testified in opposition to Senate Bill 547, which would significantly tighten the provisions of the life sciences marketing code of conduct regulation promulgated by the Dept. of Public Health and adopted by the Public Health Council in March. Its provisions could substantially impede or deter collaborative research and testing from being conducted in Massachusetts, while potentially harming the overall competitiveness of the life sciences cluster and driving new jobs and investment to other states.

Adoption of SB 547 would essentially nullify the legislative process that produced the bill and the regulatory process that implemented it. Concerns remain about the impacts and unintended consequences of this “first in the nation” code of conduct. Revisions or clarifications to the regulation are likely still needed to ensure a robust climate for research, development, and training. Yet the Chamber believes the process was open, deliberative, and inclusive – attempting to reflect the perspectives of consumer advocates, patient communities, and industry and health care leaders alike.

View the Chamber's complete policy agenda here.

Corporate Tax Policy: Chamber to push for additional revisions to combined reporting regulation

The Department of Revenue (DOR) released its combined reporting corporate tax regulation on May 26th. Although the regulations include a Chamber-backed revision, they also contain rules that will make it more difficult for multinational companies to compete in Massachusetts. Key parts of the regulation include:

• Disallowance of certain deductions for companies subject to a "foreign income inclusion" provision. Among those disallowed deductions are certain interest expenses from intercompany borrowing – a policy that will make it more difficult to raise capital.
• Limiting the intercompany inclusion provision to the inclusion of income, not losses, from intercompany transactions – the result of which is to prevent gross income included in a combined group’s taxable income from being reduced below zero even if a group’s member loses money in a year.
• A Chamber-backed revision stating that DOR would not seek to disregard an otherwise proper election that results in a reduction of Massachusetts tax liability – a change that more accurately reflects the legislative intent of the 10-year affiliated group election lock.

In the weeks ahead the Chamber will continue to work for improvements to these rules, through the regulatory process, the legislative process, or both.

View the Chamber's complete policy agenda here.

Today, the Chamber released the Massachusetts March 2009 Jobs Update. You can access the Jobs Update by clicking on the link below:

March 2009 Massachusetts Jobs Update

The Greater Boston Chamber works to improve the region’s economy and drive job growth, focusing on four goals— strengthening the workforce; making the business climate more competitive; enhancing critical industries; and fixing infrastructure. The Chamber’s agenda includes the following priority issues:

• Workforce Development: Increasing the supply of college-educated workers, and expanding charter schools.

• Transportation: Reforming the way Massachusetts delivers transportation services, and securing new revenues to fill the system’s financial holes.

• Corporate Tax Policy: Ensuring that last year’s corporate tax legislation is implemented in a clear and predictable manner, consistent with legislative intent.

The Chamber is working with business and government leaders to advance these issues, which will have a significant impact on job growth and economic growth in the years ahead.

Headlines from the March 2009 Update Include:

• Massachusetts lost 20,300 jobs last month; posted 3.2% job loss last 12 months, slightly better than US job loss rate of 3.5%

• Massachusetts falls to 189,300 jobs below previous peak; lowest employment since June 2004

• All 12 regions shed jobs last 12 months

• State trade, transportation & utilities jobs ranked 32nd among states last 12 months

You can find previous monthly Massachusetts Jobs Update documents archived on the Chamber's website, bostonchamber.com.

If you have any questions or feedback regarding the Chamber's Massachusetts Jobs Update, please don't hesitate to contact Tim Sweeney, Director of Public Policy, at (617) 557-7357 or tsweeney@bostonchamber.com.
 

Chamber president and CEO Paul Guzzi authored an op-ed piece on Massachusetts data privacy regulations that appeared in today's edition of MA High Tech. 

Guzzi outlined the challenges of protecting private information, while also efficiently conducting business. He also outlines some revisions to the regulations that the business community worked to include. 

Read the full piece here.

The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce today released its first Competitiveness Scorecard, a barometer of cost and competitiveness issues facing the Massachusetts economy and how the Commonwealth fares against the other 49 states.  The April Competitiveness Scorecard is focused on the state’s Rainy Day Fund.

The Scorecard shows that the Massachusetts Fund, measured at 7.2 percent of the total FY 2008 budget, ranked 13th in the nation before this recession hit the state.  History shows that that is not enough to protect the Commonwealth against future recessions.  Based on the data, the Chamber proposes that all annual capital gains revenues beyond the first $300 million will be allocated to the Rainy Day Fund until this key reserve account has met a specified target level.  This proposal provides a larger, more robust stream of funds in growth years to capitalize the Fund, while protecting the state budget from severe capital gains drops during economic downturns. 

The severity of the current economic recession has acutely demonstrated Massachusetts’ need for a well-equipped Rainy Day Fund.  Before the 2001-2002 recession, the Rainy Day Fund stood at nearly 8 percent of the total state budget.  Despite substantial draw-downs over the next two years, Massachusetts had to impose a significant tax increase and large spending cuts to balance the state budget.  Before the current recession, the Rainy Day Fund stood at just over 8 percent of the total state budget.  Despite that strong position, the Commonwealth has endured painful budget cuts and the prospect of tax increases as the economic downturn has worsened.

“The lesson is clear,” said Paul Guzzi, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.  “The Massachusetts Rainy Day Fund has not been strong enough.  In each of the last two recessions, a larger Fund would have substantially reduced the need for deep service cuts and tax increases.”

The Chamber proposal would:

• Dedicate capital gains revenues to the Rainy Day Fund by capping the amount of capital gains revenue that is directed to the budget at $300 million per year.  This general fund allocation could be phased in, starting at $500 million in the first year and decreasing to $300 million over a four year period.
• Deposit all additional capital gains revenue into the Rainy Day Fund each year until a target of 15% of budgeted revenues is reached. 
• Once the fund has reached its 15 percent target, additional capital gains revenues would revert back to the general fund.

While this proposal focuses on money coming into the Rainy Day Fund, the Chamber also believes that caution should be used in taking money out of the Fund.  Specifically, the Chamber believes that draw-downs from the Rainy Day Fund should only occur when total state revenues are declining.  That approach will prevent the Fund from being spent or reduced during times of economic growth.

In addition to producing a Rainy Day Fund that hits the 15% target within a few years, the Chamber proposal would reduce the Commonwealth’s operating dependence on the unpredictable capital gains revenue stream.  The more stable state budget that results, coupled with a larger Fund, will make Massachusetts’ fiscal position stronger than ever.

The Chamber’s Competitiveness Scorecard, published throughout the year, highlights cost and competitiveness issues facing the Massachusetts economy. Each scorecard measures Massachusetts’ competitiveness on a key issue compared to all 50 states, and introduces a policy proposal designed to enhance the state’s competitive position. Future editions of the Scorecard will focus on business cost, workforce development, and innovation issues.

Yesterday, the Chamber released the 2009 Massachusetts Jobs Update. You can access the Jobs Update by clicking on the link below:

January 2009 Massachusetts Jobs Update

Headlines from the January 2009 Update include:

• Massachusetts lost 4,900 jobs last month; posted 2.2% job loss last 12 months, slightly better than US job loss rate of 2.7%
   
• State falls to 158,700 jobs below previous peak; lowest employment since December 2005
   
• All 12 regions shed jobs last 12 months
   
• State education & health services jobs up 1.9% last 12 months; ranked 35th among states and trailed U.S. rate (2.7%)

You can find all of the 2008 monthly Massachusetts Jobs Update documents archived on the Chamber's website, bostonchamber.com. 

If you have any questions or feedback regarding the Chamber's Massachusetts Jobs Update, please don't hesitate to contact Tim Sweeney, Director of Public Policy, at (617) 557-7357 or tsweeney@bostonchamber.com.

Last month, as part of his budget proposal, Governor Deval Patrick recommended raising the cap on charter schools – a goal that has long been championed by the Greater Boston Chamber.
  
Charter schools have proven to be an effective tool in closing the achievement gap between low-income and minority students and their peers.  A recent study released by The Boston Foundation found that students in Boston charter schools consistently outperformed their peers in traditional public schools.  The results in math achievement for middle-school students are particularly compelling: the study estimates that the benefit of a single year spent in a charter school was equivalent to closing half of the black-white achievement gap.

Despite their documented success, the expansion of charter schools is presently slowed by a cap that limits student access and constrains innovation.  Lifting the cap will offer new educational opportunities and provide encouragement to parents and educators seeking greater creativity and flexibility.
 
The Chamber believes charter schools are a key component to expanding the talent pipeline that will sustain Greater Boston’s economy.  In the coming months, the Chamber will work with administration officials and legislative leaders to raise the cap on charter schools and expand opportunities for students throughout Greater Boston. 

The Chamber's efforts to delay the implementation and secure key revisions in new data privacy regulations was mentioned in an article on computerworld.com over the weekend.

Earlier this month, an amended data privacy regulation was filed by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation incorporating key Chamber-backed revisions including:

• Extending the general compliance date from May 1, 2009 to January, 1, 2010.
• Removing the 3rd party vendor certification requirement, inserting a requirement that companies take reasonable steps to verify service provider regulatory compliance.
• Limiting encryption requirements for wireless devices to data that contains “personal information”, rather than to all data transmitted wirelessly.

The Chamber has worked closely with the Administration, the Attorney General’s office, the Legislature, and member firms in recent months to delay the implementation of the regulations, and to secure key revisions that will better enable companies to comply.  These amendments represent a very positive step in that direction.

The Chamber will continue to work with government and business stakeholders in the coming months – in order to implement the regulation in a way that does not unnecessarily burden employers or harm competitiveness during these challenging economic times.

Earlier today, the Chamber issued the following statement in response to the Council on State Taxation (COST) 2009 State and Local Business Tax Study, which revealed that the Massachusetts Corporate Tax Burden is 44% Above National Average:

"Massachusetts companies bear a far greater corporate tax burden than their peers nationally – and the gap is widening.  The COST State and Local Business Tax study, prepared by Ernst & Young LLP, shows all state and local business taxes paid in each of the 50 states.  It was released today and shows the following:

• Massachusetts’ corporate tax burden is 44% higher than the national average, a disparity that adds nearly $700 million in additional corporate tax costs for the state’s employers annually (last year’s burden was 27% higher than the national average).  This trend is likely to worsen in coming years, since the report does not fully reflect the impact of the 2008 Massachusetts corporate tax legislation. 
• From FY2002 to FY2008, state and local taxes paid by Massachusetts businesses grew faster (up 51%) than the total of all state and local taxes in the Commonwealth (up 42%).
• Massachusetts businesses pay state and local taxes that are much greater than the amount of state and local governments’ expenditures benefiting businesses--$5.6 billion or 79% higher. 

The perception and reality of uncompetitive corporate tax policies damage Massachusetts’s economic competitiveness.  The Commonwealth boasts the industries and intellectual capital that are critical to a strong economy, but their promise will not be realized without improvements to the state’s business cost structure."

On January 16, the Chamber testified at a public hearing on a first-in-the-nation data privacy regulation [201 CMR 17.00] that will impact all Massachusetts employers regardless of size or industry.  The final regulations are expected to be announced by Thursday.

The Chamber advocated for revisions to the regulation and the need to implement it in a way that does not unnecessarily burden employers or harm competitiveness during these challenging economic times (click here to view testimony).

The regulation, under consideration by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR), has a May 2009 general compliance date and includes a sweeping new set of requirements for employers – including data encryption and inventory, third-party vendor certification, and a series of other requirements that will demand material changes in business practices along with ongoing financial and resource investments by Massachusetts companies.

The Chamber has worked closely with the administration and OCABR, the Attorney General’s office, the Legislature, and member firms in recent months to delay the implementation of the regulation, and to work for key revisions that will better enable members to comply with them. While the Chamber helped secure delays in the effective dates of this regulation, it contains provisions that merit further improvement.  

The Chamber believes data privacy can be enhanced in Massachusetts without significantly impacting jobs, investment, or the overall economic competitiveness of the state. As such, the Chamber will continue to provide a strong voice for the employer community in the days ahead as it works with government and industry stakeholders for data privacy regulations that further the commonly shared goals of protecting personal information and growing the economy.

Today the Chamber released its December 2008 Monthly Jobs Update.

This Month's Headlines:

• Massachusetts lost 16,800 jobs last month; posted 1.3% job loss last 12 months, slightly better than US job loss rate of 1.9%
• State falls to 139,900 jobs below previous peak; lowest employment since June 2006
• Only one of 12 regions added jobs last 12 months (MetroWest)
• State sheds jobs in seven of eight supersectors last 12 months; only Educ. & Health Services gain

You can find all of the 2008 monthly Massachusetts Jobs Update documents archived on the Chamber's website, bostonchamber.com.

The Chamber's November 2008 Monthly Jobs Update shows that Massachusetts lost 8,000 jobs last month.

Other key findings include:

• Massachusetts posted 0.3% job loss over the last 12 months
• Only two of 12 regions added jobs over the last 12 months - Greater Boston and MetroWest
• State falls to 108,800 jobs below previous peak
• State information jobs down slightly (-0.2%) last 12 months; far better than U.S. rate and ranked 12th among states

Compare this month against previous jobs reports here.

For more information on the Chamber's Job Creation Policy Agenda and ongoing advocacy, please visit the Chamber’s Advocacy and Policy page.

The Chamber continues to work with top state officials to maintain a regulatory climate that encourages collaborative research and product marketability within the life sciences. In August, Governor Patrick signed into law a health care cost containment bill that contained stringent marketing and public reporting requirements for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries.

Since the bill became law, the Chamber has been working to ensure that these reporting requirements do not hinder research. Over the past several months, we have shifted our advocacy to the Department of Public Health (DPH), which is charged with drafting and administering these regulations.

Last month, DPH announced a revised and improved process for promulgating regulations for Chapter 305 Section 111N, the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturer Conduct.  The initial plan of finalizing emergency regulations this month and implementing them in January 2009 – without a public hearing – has been replaced.  The revised schedule will now include a formal public comment and hearing process in between the time the proposed regulations are presented to the Public Health Council (PHC) on December 10th and the final vote of the PHC which could take place as early as February 2009.

The Chamber remains concerned that parts of these new regulations could hinder medical research, clinical trials, and product commercialization in Massachusetts.  As such, the Chamber will testify at the January 2009 hearing in Boston and will continue to work directly with the Administration, DPH, and affected companies and institutions throughout this process in order to ensure that the final regulations reflect the perspectives of this critical industry and complement the collective goal of growing Greater Boston's life sciences cluster.

The Chamber continues to work with top state officials to maintain a regulatory climate that encourages collaborative research and product marketability within the life sciences. In August, Governor Patrick signed into law a health care cost containment bill that contained stringent marketing and public reporting requirements for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries.

Since the bill became law, the Chamber has been working to ensure that these reporting requirements do not hinder research. Over the past several months, we have shifted our advocacy to the Department of Public Health (DPH), which is charged with drafting and administering these regulations. DPH is currently developing and planning to promulgate emergency regulations, effective January 1, 2009, at a December 10th meeting of the Public Health Council. Following the Public Health Council deliberation and vote, there is expected to be a public hearing/comment process on the emergency regulations in early 2009.

The Chamber remains concerned that parts of these new regulations could hinder medical research, clinical trials, and product commercialization in Massachusetts. As such, the Chamber will continue working with state elected and appointed leaders, including the DPH, throughout the implementation process to help ensure that the forthcoming marketing and disclosure regulations reflect the perspectives of the industry and complement our collectively held goal of growing Greater Boston's life sciences cluster.