Photos from this morning's Financial Services Forum with Brian Moynihan of Bank of America are now available online. Click here to view the image library.

For images of previous Financial Services Forum breakfasts, click here.

And remember to save the date for the next Financial Services Forum in the fall. On October 2nd we are pleased to welcome featured speaker Eric Rosengren, president & CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Registration will be open in September.

Speaking before a sold out crowd of Chamber members at this morning's Financial Services Forum, Brian Moynihan, president of Global Banking and Wealth Management for Bank of America, covered a wide array of topics from the state of the economy to the future of Bank of America to the bank's footprint in the Greater Boston region.

You can find coverage of the event here,  here and here. Check back later today for photography from the event.

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.

On 'The Business Beat' with Peter Howe, Guzzi, Nikitas, and Howe discuss Obama's efforts to overhaul health care, transportation reform in Massachusetts, the state's recent job numbers, and the Comcast takeover of NECN.

 

 

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.

 

Chamber president & CEO Paul Guzzi went on the record with NECN anchor RD Sahl last night.  Topics included the transportation reform plan enacted by the Massachusetts legislature, the state budget and sales tax, positive job numbers, and Sail Boston.

The transportation legislation agreed upon by House and Senate leaders is a major step forward towards addressing our transportation challenges.  The Chamber supports the significant reforms included in the conference committee report, including: structural reorganization for a more logical, and less cumbersome, state bureaucracy that eliminates duplication of agencies; pension and health care reform; and progress on the issue of tort reform.

Now that significant reform has been enacted, the state can and should move forward on the issue of transportation financing.  The dedication of sales tax dollars in the House and Senate budget bills will solve some of our most immediate transportation financing needs.  It is important that those needs be addressed right away. 

Restructuring the state’s transportation system and identifying and devoting new revenue is critical as Massachusetts looks to address the $20 billion financing gap revealed by the Transportation Finance Commission. 

The Chamber will continue to work to achieve a well-funded and efficient transportation system that is crucial to ensure economic growth throughout the Commonwealth.

Click here to view images from Monday's luncheon with Congressman Edward Markey.

You can view images from all of the Chamber's Government Affairs Forum events on our Flickr page as well, including breakfasts with Governor Patrick, Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo, Senate President Therese Murray, and Massachusetts Treasurer Timothy Cahill.

For more than a decade, Linda Whitlock was focused on one goal: helping Boston’s youth realize their full potential.

She succeeded on a level that few could have imagined, raising the Boys & Girls Club of Boston to a new level of effectiveness and impacting the lives of countless thousands of children.

During her decade at the helm of the Club, Linda nearly doubled the number of youths served by its programs to more than 14,000. 
And she increased the endowment from less than $2 million to more than $20 million. 

Linda created a more open, outward looking organization, with key supporters throughout the ranks of business and government. 

And, perhaps most importantly, those leaders continue to believe in her vision for the future of Boston’s youth.

Those who are close to Linda told us more…




For her passionate commitment to future generations of Bostonians, the CHamber welcomed Linda Whitlock into the Academy of Distinguished Bostonians.    

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.

On the 'Business Beat' with Peter Howe, topics of discussion include the Massachusetts health care law, Tim Geitner's visit to Boston, and the potential impact of Sonia Sotomayor on business law.

On yesterday's edition of This Week in Business, Wellesley economics professor Chip Case sat down with Paul Guzzi and Mike Nikitas to discuss the latest developments in the housing market.

Chamber executive vice president Jim Klocke went 'On the Record' last night with NECN's RD Sahl to discuss health care costs and the taxes vs. tolls debate.

On Monday, June 8, the Chamber will host a Government Affairs Forum luncheon with Congressman Ed Markey.

The Dean of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, Congressman Markey works to harness the energy and focus of his colleagues on behalf of the entire Commonwealth. A national leader on energy and the environment, Markey chairs the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.  Under his leadership, this critical new committee has held more than 50 hearings and contributed to the advancement of smarter energy and climate policies, including the first increase in fuel economy standards in three decades.  He also chairs the newly created Energy and Environment subcommittee, which will have unprecedented jurisdiction over national energy policy and play a central role in drafting energy and climate legislation in a new era of change.

To register for this event, click here.

On Friday, June 26, the Chamber's Financial Services Forum will feature Bank of America's Brian Moynihan.

Moynihan is president of Global Banking and Wealth Management for Bank of America.  Moynihan joined Bank of America in 2004, and has held several management positions including his most recent role as general counsel in the merger of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch & Co.  Under his leadership, Global Banking and Wealth Management deliver industry leading services to individuals, institutions, corporations, and institutional investors in more than 150 countries.  Bank of America currently has a leading commercial and investment bank, the largest wealth management business in the world, and serves 100 percent of the Fortune 500 corporations.

Moynihan came to Bank of America through the bank’s merger with FleetBoston Financial.  During his stay at Fleet, Moynihan served as deputy general counsel, leading Brokerage & Wealth Management.  He currently chairs Bank of America’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Council and serves on the board of directors for YouthBuild Boston and the Boys and Girls Club of Boston.  Moynihan is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Notre Dame Law School.

To register for this event, click here.

On an evening when we pay tribute to 100 years of leadership in the Greater Boston business community, we are proud to hear from our Centennial Speaker, General Colin L. Powell. One of the most admired and respected leaders in America today, General Powell will offer his thoughts on leadership and vision for tomorrow.

A man of supreme intelligence, versatility, and presence, General Powell served as the first African-American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was appointed Secretary of State by President George W. Bush, becoming, at that time, the most powerful African-American ever to hold public office. He previously served as a key aide to the Secretary of Defense and was National Security Advisor to President Reagan. Powell is a retired four-star general in the United States Army, and his numerous awards include two Presidential Medals of Freedom, the President’s Citizens Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal, the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Medal, the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service Medal, and the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award. He is the author of My American Journey, a best-selling autobiography.

Since returning to private life, General Powell has become a strategic limited partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the renowned Silicon Valley venture capital firm. He is the Founder of the Colin Powell Policy Center at his alma mater, the City College of New York, and he is helping to raise funds for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC, and for the construction of an education center at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

As someone who has crafted and articulated U.S. policy on the world stage, Powell provides insight on efforts to stabilize a troubled world and the diplomatic and leadership skills needed to transform unstable regions into areas where societies and cultures flourish.

To register for this event, please visit the Centennial Celebration online registration page on bostonchamber.com.