Filling in more blanks on her economic development plans, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said Thursday she wants to reauthorize life sciences investments at $1 billion for the next decade, and launch a separate $1 billion, 10-year climate tech initiative.
Healey highlighted parts of her planned legislation, which she dubbed the "Mass Leads Act," at Somerville-based Form Energy, an energy storage technology and manufacturing company.
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The full bill remains a work in progress, and will likely be reworked and augmented by the Legislature once it is filed.
Healey's life sciences initiative will include $500 million in capital funding for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and inject $350 million into the life sciences tax incentive program. Another $150 million would cover operating resources, such as worker training and other strategic efforts to grow the life sciences sector and support early-stage companies, the administration said.
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Healey also wants to raise the annual cap on life sciences tax incentives from $30 million to $50 million. Annual awards are subject to approval by Administration and Finance Secretary Matt Gorzkowicz, and "subject to recapture" if recipients fail to "substantially achieve the new state revenue, job growth and capital investment projections," according to the administration.
The governor's climate tech initiative proposes $400 million in capital funding to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, split evenly across authorizations to support a clean energy investment fund and offshore wind industry investment fund.
The clean tech plan incorporates $300 million in tax incentives, including a $35 million annual offshore wind tax credit and a new climate tech tax incentive program subject to a $30 million annual cap.
The initiative also recommends $300 million in operating support at the MassCEC, which can cover workforce development, strategic partnerships and internships, the administration said in newly released documents.
"The Mass Leads Act will take our proven, homegrown model of the Life Science Initiative to the next level to continue leading the world in attracting innovative businesses to our state and developing life-saving medicines. We’ll also stake our claim in burgeoning industries like climatetech and artificial intelligence to make clear that Massachusetts competes to win," Healey said in a statement. "This is a transformative opportunity to strengthen our state's economy while also supporting our businesses, workforce and communities, and we look forward to working with our Legislative partners to get it done."
