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          2:45pm - 4:00pm

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          Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.

          Read More
          Massachusetts Apprentice Network

          The Massachusetts Apprentice Network convenes employers, training providers, and talent sources interested in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs in occupations across industries and statewide in fields such as tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and more.

          Read More
          Strategic Communication for Better Collaboration

          Level up your leadership and communication in this Boston Chamber workshop for professionals—gain essential skills in team alignment.

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Chamber letter to State FY2021 Budget Conferees

December 1, 2020

The FY2021 Budget Conference Committee is working to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate FY2021 spending plans. The Chamber submitted a letter requesting that they consider the following provisions that will directly impact our region’s economy.

To view a copy of the Chamber’s letter to the Conference Committee click here.

 

Investments in Workforce Development and Regional Competitiveness

 

  • $7 million transfer to fund the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund, line-item 1595-1075

The Chamber supports the House proposal to fund the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund at $7 million. Investing in the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund will help close the skills gap by developing industry partnerships to train the unemployed and underemployed and fill vacancies in high-demand job markets across the Commonwealth. Getting residents back to work and into high-demand jobs is especially important now, given the state’s 7.4% unemployment rate as of October 2020.

 

  • $4 million to the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC), line-item 7002-0040

The Chamber supports continued funding for the MGCC Small Business Technical Assistance Program provides funding and other resources to nonprofits that support small businesses across the Commonwealth through access to capital, business training, and other necessary resources. Among other positive results, MGCC reports that between FY2014 and FY2017 the program successfully generated more than 1,200 new businesses and more than 1,600 businesses grew because of the program. Successful programs like this contribute to the overall economic strength of Massachusetts.

 

  • $1.5 million for Career and Technical Education Program, line item 7035-0001

The Chamber supports allocating $1.5 million for Career Vocational and Technical Education (CVTE) because this funding will allow more access to CVTE for all students by expanding existing programs and developing new ones. CVTE programs are an effective method for training our next generation of talent with the skills they need to be successful in the workforce and are so popular that thousands of students across the Commonwealth are on waitlists.

 

 

  • $500,000 for Registered Apprenticeship Expansion, line item 7003-0151

 

The Chamber supports the Senate proposal to continue funding the Registered Apprenticeship Expansion at $500,000. This program promotes hiring and training new employees in the health care, manufacturing, and information technology industries. Apprenticeships benefit both employers and individuals: employers are able to develop their workforce pipelines, and individuals gain the skills and training to secure employment in the state’s key industries.

 

Sales Tax Modernization

 

The Chamber has consistently expressed its concern with proposals to implement pre-payment of sales tax.

By requiring early remittance, or pre-payment, the Commonwealth would see a one-time bump in FY21 revenues, but no lasting change to state revenues. This has the effect of essentially building in 13 months of sales tax revenues in a 12-month period. The Chamber opposes implementing early remittance without the flexibility that is provided through a safe harbor that allows businesses to estimate their tax liability based off of a previous filing.

 

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