This virtual event gives small business owners the chance to hear directly from procurement officers about opportunities to work with them.
05/29/2025
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Virtual
Join us for an exclusive networking event at the Museum of Fine Arts and enjoy self-guided tours of John Wilson and Van Gogh, showcasing the deep bond of family, friendship, and community.
06/05/2025
5:30pm - 8:30pm
Museum of Fine Arts
The Transportation First Series offers a platform to discuss the challenges faced by our region, with the input of experts and changemakers.
06/12/2025
2:45pm - 4:30pm
Hybrid | Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
This program is in redevelopment. Click this page for DEI resources.
Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.
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.
Join us on June 12 for a highly interactive virtual workshop with Strategic Career & Leadership Coach Carole-Ann Penney.
City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.
We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).
Small businesses are the backbone of the Boston economy. Learn more about the resources available through the Chamber.
BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.
For over 30 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.
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.
Explore our mission and values to better understand how we are leading the business community forward.
Our member directory is your resource to discover, connect, and engage with Boston’s businesses from every industry and sector.
April 28, 2025
Dear Speaker Mariano and Chair Michlewitz,
On behalf of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and our 1,200 members, I would like to thank you and your staff for your work in crafting the House’s FY26 budget (H.4000). The Chamber appreciates the efforts of you and your colleagues to prioritize fiscal responsibility by limiting budget growth, and by reviewing proposed spending and policies through a lens of competitiveness.
The Chamber was pleased to see several of our priorities included in the FY26 House Budget, including critical funding for the MBTA, RTAs, C3 Stabilization Grants, Small Business Technical Assistance Grants, and workforce development funding through early college, dual enrollment and CVTE. As you begin the debate process, we offer the following additional feedback on several filed amendments for your consideration.
Housing
OPPOSE: Amendments Weakening the MBTA Communities Act
The Chamber supported the Legislature’s passage of the MBTA Communities Act that encourages new housing production around public transit nodes along the MBTA’s rapid transit and commuter rail systems. Amendments 311, 572, 585, and 1643 aim to slow important progress on municipal compliance with section 3A of chapter 40A by delaying deadlines for compliance, allowing past construction to qualify, or imposing an unnecessary judicial review. These efforts undermine the modest requirements of the current law to develop greatly needed housing units throughout the Commonwealth. Cities and towns in the greater Boston area saw the fewest privately owned housing permits through the first 3 months of 2025, the slowest start since 2013.i In this context, the MBTA Communities, only one tool for housing production, is more important than ever.
It is important to note the law does not actually require the construction of any new housing, but only to ease the zoning requirements in a small area of each municipality located near transit options. The MBTA’s Communities Act was supported by wide margins in the Legislature and Governor Baker in 2020. We encourage the House to reject these amendments.
Business Climate
SUPPORT: Amendment 546 (Jones) 529 Savings Plan Deduction Increase
The Chamber supports increasing the allowable deduction for contributions to 529 savings plans, allowing residents to save for college or other education related options. 529 savings plans are a useful tool for families to plan for available education options while building resources over time to help with tuition or fees related to educational programs. As you know, workers with a bachelor’s degree are far less likely to be unemployed as their peers with a high school diploma and earn 66% more in weekly earnings.ii Employers support tools such as 529 plans to make it easier for upcoming students to learn necessary skills to succeed in the workplace. As demographic shifts make it harder for Massachusetts employers to find qualified talent, supporting strong, high quality education options is vital to ongoing success in Massachusetts, and 529 savings plans expand opportunities for students to achieve positive outcomes in their personal and professional lives.
NEUTRAL: Amendment 548 (Jones) Unemployment Insurance Reform Commission
While the Chamber does not believe a commission is necessary, amendment #548 raises the important subject of the sustainability of the Commonwealth’s unemployment insurance system, scheduled to become insolvent by 2028 despite significant schedule rate increases in taxes on employers. As you know, the Commonwealth ranks 47th in its UI tax burden in 2025.iii This places Massachusetts at a significant disadvantage with its competitor states. Additionally, employers are still paying an annual COVID-19 assessment, totaling an estimated $349 million in 2025 and likely remaining above $300 million a year through 2028. To keep the UI Trust Fund solvent, the predicted rate schedule, and associated higher costs, will jump from Schedule D to Schedule F in 2026, not factoring in either the COVID assessment, and now, the $203 million annual repayment due to the federal government for improperly utilizing federal funds for UI benefits during the pandemic. The Chamber stands ready to partner with legislators to discuss potential reforms to this system to address solvency and costs to employers.
SUPPORT: Amendment 550 (Jones) Rolling Stock
The Commonwealth has long been an outlier by collecting sales tax on rolling stock. Neighboring states, such as New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont have sales tax exemptions or partial exemptions on rolling stock. Exempting rolling stock from Massachusetts’ sales tax would encourage greater trucking investment within the Commonwealth. Companies would be encouraged to purchase new vehicles, including EVs, which would keep our roads safer and help reduce emissions.
SUPPORT: Amendment 796 (Gonzalez) Grants for Micro Businesses ($7.5M)
The Chamber was pleased to see language updating the definition of “micro business” included in the last year’s Mass Leads Act. The simple change of increasing the maximum number of employees for a micro business from five to ten opened the door for more businesses to apply for grant funding from the Massachusetts Office of Business Development and made it easier to start and grow a new business in the Commonwealth. The $7.5M in grant funding found in this amendment would build off last year’s groundbreaking legislation and would offer critical support to micro businesses throughout the state.
SUPPORT: Amendment 1166 (Sousa) Expansion Grants for CVTE
We were grateful for the House’s $50M investment into CVTE expansion included in excess surtax funding bill (H.4010). This funding increases student access to CVTE by expanding existing capacity. As you are well aware, the demand for seats at our Vocational-Technical schools has continued to far outpace current capacity limits, and the modest increase in funding found in this amendment will help prepare our students for in-demand jobs in all regions of the Commonwealth.
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
James E. Rooney
President and CEO
Popular Resources