You may have heard buzz in recent weeks about the Mass Leads Act, a new economic development bill signed by Governor Maura Healey. Let’s discuss.
Months of collaboration by Healey’s administration and the state legislature triumphed on November 20th when Governor Healey signed into law the “Mass Leads Act,” a comprehensive economic development plan designed with innovation at the helm. The bill aims to retrofit our economy for a coming age of scientific breakthrough and technological advancement, for which Healey hopes Massachusetts will lead the way.
“Massachusetts is the best state in the nation to live, work, go to school, raise a family, and build a future,” the governor asserted in her announcement of the legislation. “That’s in large part due to our commitment to investing in cutting-edge industries that produce transformative innovations and make life better for people.”
Massachusetts has dominated the life sciences since 2008, when the former Deval Patrick administration invested a billion dollars into trailblazing innovations in that sector. With the Mass Leads Act, Healey seeks to cultivate similar prowess in growing areas such as ClimateTech and Applied AI.
Meticulous in strategy and ambitious in scope, the Mass Leads Act is an amalgamation of investments, grant subsidies, internship programs, and tax incentives. As communities grapple with issues such as climate change, public health shifts, and tech-driven stagnation in coming years, these investments will help Massachusetts remain scrappy, solution-oriented, and several steps ahead.
More broadly, Healey’s team hopes that Massachusetts will emerge as a dominant voice in the innovation sphere — beating even Silicon Valley when it comes to attracting, retaining, and supporting the nation’s best talent in the fastest-growing industries of the future. “From day one, we have set out to make Massachusetts the best place for individuals to pursue rewarding careers and for companies to start, scale and succeed,” said Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao (a long-time friend of MFN’s parent organization Lever). Secretary Hao called the Mass Leads Act an “ambitious North Star,” signaling stakeholders’ expectations that this unprecedented legislation will guide economic growth for generations.
Hao was a keynote speaker at the bill’s signing celebration in Cambridge, where she spotlighted the “superstars” on “Team MA” who breathed life into the law. “We don’t give up, we’re wicked smart, and we work together,” she asserted. “We really have the best team.”
Secretary Hao reminded attendees that 16 years ago, in the midst of the Great Recession of 2008, Massachusetts was far from being the life science leader it is today. Kendall Square, now “the most innovative square mile on the planet” (and the neighborhood in which the event was held) was merely “a bunch of parking lots and maybe some industrial sites.” However, Governor Patrick’s investment in that sector has paid huge dividends in the ensuing years. Hao predicts similar success from this latest flagship feat.
“We’re not going to see tomorrow or next week what the impact will be,” she cautioned. “But 16 years from now in 2040, I want you all to think back to this day…. We’re going to have so many people whose lives were changed.”
On the precipice of a multi-billion dollar influx to the innovation space, there has seldom been a better time — nor a better state — to be an entrepreneur. “This is a time for Massachusetts to lead again,” declared Hao. “Like we did 250 years ago by tossing that tea in the water!” she added, chuckling. “This Mass Leads Act is our shot heard around the world.”
Concluding her remarks, Hao called for a moment of reflection. “Remember that you were here, and you were part of it,” she said. “We’re not just going to change our state. We’re going to change our country and the world.”
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