Press Release: 4/3/2025

Leading Massachusetts Business Groups Share Policy Priorities with Governor Healey, Lt. Governor Driscoll, House Speaker Mariano, & Senate President Spilka

Contact: cbaines@bostonchamber.com



 



On April 2, 2025, four of the state's leading business associations, Associated Industries of Massachusetts, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Massachusetts Business Roundtable, and Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, shared their public policy priorities with Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, House Speaker Mariano, & Senate President Spilka. In the attached letters signed collectively by the business organization's Presidents & CEOs, they highlight three critical challenges: 





  • the cost of living and doing business; 




  • external threats to our core strengths; and 




  • troubling outmigration trends, particularly of working-age adults. 





 



To address these challenges, the Presidents & CEOs offer four areas of focus for the new session that are critical to continuing the shared work of addressing the state’s competitiveness: 





  • Growing and Maximizing the State’s Labor Force. 




  • Supporting Core Economic Sectors.




  • Viewing Policy through the Prism of Cost. 




  • Maintaining Strong Public Finances.





As the legislative session proceeds, the four business groups will identify specific policy initiatives within each of these four priority areas and work collaboratively, with Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, House Speaker Mariano, & Senate President Spilka, to advance them.



 



The full letter is attached and below:



 



On behalf of four of the state’s leading business associations – the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Massachusetts Business Roundtable, and Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation – we write to thank you for your work in the prior legislative session to advance the Commonwealth’s competitiveness. As the 2025-2026 legislative session gets underway, that work continues, and we want to express our same, urgent focus on ensuring that Massachusetts can compete in an increasingly uncertain global economy.



 



Massachusetts remains a beacon for innovation, educational excellence, cultural vibrancy, and values. At the same time, the national and global economies are more competitive than ever. People make tough choices every day about where to raise a family, build a career, or start a business, and employers make decisions about where to hire, to locate, and to invest. We want to make sure our state continues to compete for these people and businesses and that their decisions lead them to Massachusetts.



 



The recently concluded legislative session brought with it notable accomplishments to improve the state’s competitive position, thanks to your leadership. Beginning with $1 billion in tax cuts, ending with nearly $10 billion in bond authorizations for housing and economic development, and with important achievements on issues like pay equity, childcare, and energy siting and permitting, the Legislature and the Healey-Driscoll administration took aim at issues directly impacting the Commonwealth’s long-term success. However, we also recognize the work necessary to make Massachusetts a place that is affordable and attractive for residents and employers is never finished.



 



The rapidly changing landscape in Washington poses new and critical threats to the foundations of our economic success. Massachusetts is at the intersection of education, research, and innovation; a combination that brings new technologies to the world and prosperity to our communities. Federal actions impacting higher education, research funding, immigration, DEI, and international trade will do harm to our members broadly, but are particularly dangerous to the Commonwealth’s continued success.



 



As we head into the new legislative session, we look to partner with you to build upon the momentum of this past session and protect the state from negative federal impacts. It is our hope that coming together around a framework of competitiveness oriented towards protecting Massachusetts’ strengths will lead to continued collaboration and progress as we pursue our shared goal of making Massachusetts a highly desirable place to live, work, and do business.



 



To frame this agenda for the new session, we highlight three critical challenges before us: 



1) the cost of living and doing business; 



2) external threats to our core strengths; and 



3) troubling outmigration trends, particularly of working-age adults. 



It is with these overarching challenges in mind that we prioritize our organizations’ shared policy goals.



 



As a baseline, a continued focus on housing and transportation, which underlie much of the state’s



competitiveness strategy, must be prioritized while, at the same time, identifying specific opportunities and threats to the state’s workforce, economy, and fiscal health. We also collectively agree that equity must be foundational, and that the state’s values, social climate, and quality of life are a competitive advantage.



 



We respectfully offer four areas of focus for the new session that we collectively view as critical to continuing our shared work on addressing the state’s competitiveness. As the legislative session proceeds, we will identify specific policy initiatives within each of these four priority areas and work collaboratively, with each other and with you, to advance them.



 



1.   Growing and Maximizing the State’s Labor Force. The talent pool in Massachusetts has been our



primary competitive advantage for decades. Fueled by our top-rated public education system and a



public and private higher education ecosystem like no other in the world, employers locate here in large part because of their access to talent. With a high cost of living and persistent outmigration trends, this competitive advantage is under threat. However, immigration is serving to offset some of these trends, providing an untapped talent source to help drive the Massachusetts economy. It is a priority of our organizations to work with you to identify and address barriers to employment for this critical population, connect untapped talent pools to the workforce, and create a social and economic environment that is conducive to recruiting and retaining the best talent in the world.



 



2.   Supporting Core Economic Sectors. A shifting federal landscape and ongoing geopolitical pressures are impacting many of the state’s key industries that are foundational to our economy, such as higher education, health care, life sciences, and clean energy. All are vulnerable and require a state strategy to mitigate risk and support our core strengths. It is a priority of our organizations to work with public leaders to identify ways to support and protect these industries.



 



3.   Viewing Policy through the Prism of Cost. There are many drivers impacting the cost of living and doing business that we all know well, such as housing, energy, health care, childcare, and unemployment insurance. These cost pressures act like a vice on the Massachusetts economy. For lower-wage families, the cost differential in Massachusetts for housing and childcare, to name two, can spur relocation, while at the same time, higher- wealth families are more likely to leave Massachusetts than any other income group. For employers, these costs can lead to hiring, expanding or locating outside of the state, or reducing footprint or investment within it. These trends are a threat to Massachusetts and speak to the need to reduce cost differentials between Massachusetts and other states. A priority for our organizations is to work with public leaders to apply a cost lens to public policy deliberations to ensure that the cost of living and doing business in the Commonwealth are considered.



 



4.   Maintaining Strong Public Finances. In this period of heightened economic uncertainty both on



the state and federal levels, it is imperative that the state manage spending growth within sustainable levels, manage reserves thoughtfully so that they are available to mitigate impacts of temporary, unexpected shocks, and use one-time resources to address long-term liabilities. It is a priority of our organizations to work with public leaders to ensure continued discipline in our public finance strategies.



 



By focusing on growing and maximizing the state’s labor force, supporting core economic sectors, viewing policy through the prism of cost, and maintaining strong public finances, Massachusetts can thrive in a challenging environment. It is incumbent on us in the business community to work collaboratively with each other and in partnership with government to collectively build upon the momentum of this past session and carry it into 2025 as we continue to address the state’s competitiveness. Our four organizations are coming together in that spirit of collaboration to offer a framework for action and a roadmap for our continued work together.



 



Brooke Thomson



President & CEO



Associated Industries of Massachusetts



 



James E. Rooney



President & CEO



Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce



 



JD Chesloff



President & CEO



Massachusetts Business Roundtable



 



Doug Howgate



President



Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation