The economic development bill enacted right around midnight Monday does not include an expansion of a tax incentive aimed at helping low-income workers or authorization for the Massachusetts Lottery to expand into online gaming, as had been included in the Senate’s version, according to the lead House negotiator on the bill.
And while it did include $500 million for the MassWorks Infrastructure Program, from which Greenfield is seeking $2.5 million of a planned $10 million parking garage project, the adopted version failed to include a Senate provision that would have required at least 20 percent of MassWorks distribution to go to towns with populations of 30,000 or under.
Rep. Paul Mark said the legislation also included $100,000 for rebuilding the Hurricane Irene-damaged Clesson Brook Road bridge as well as money for a freezer project at the Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center and $250,000 for a Pioneer Valley Innovation Center describer by Mayor William Martin as a “shared startup space.”
Martin said the bill also provided for $50,000 for a “transportation pilot study” that could lead to shuttle service to lessen the need for parking space for the new Greenfield courthouse.
Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, called the compromise “solid,” but pointed to the loss of an increased earned income tax credit that could have been paid for by closing two tax loopholes, including having Airbnb rentals subject to a hotel-motel tax.
“The bill is good; it would have been great,” said Rosenberg, expressing frustration that delays in getting bills from the House to the Senate was responsible for the 11th-hour rush in negotiating the legislation.
“Most of the bills the governor, the speaker and I agreed were top priorities didn’t get to the Senate until the last month of the session, and all were in the House for many months,” said Rosenberg. “There was a rush to the finish line where we could have had a smoother, more deliberative process. I hope we can have a constructive conversation going into the next term.”
“The Senate had a number of outside sections that didn’t match up with things in the House. Most of those were set aside or held in conference,” said Rep. Joe Wagner, the House chairman of the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.
The final version was filed around 11 p.m. Sunday and enacted on a unanimous 156-0 vote in the House and a 38-1 vote in the Senate just after midnight. With major borrowing provisions, the economic development bill required roll call votes on enactment, and the Legislature’s rules prohibit formal sessions — where recorded votes can be taken — from happening after July 31.
“We needed to get that done tonight,” Wagner said.
A tax on short-term private room rentals, including through the online booking site Airbnb, was also dropped from the final version as was a provision subjecting non-profits to property taxes when they buy real estate already on local tax rolls, according to Wagner.
The bill also includes $45 million in capital dollars for brownfields, $45 million for “transformative development,” and $45 million for equipment for career and technical education, among other measures.
The bill includes a new tax deduction intended to encourage more families to save for college tuition costs.