In partnership with Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a panel of experts will discuss strategies to bolster the competitiveness of Boston.
10/09/2024
10:00am - 11:00am
Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce or Virtual
Join us for our final Words of Wisdom dinner of the year featuring Councilor Brian Worrell and Representative Chris Worrell.
10/10/2024
5:00pm - 7:00pm
Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
Don’t miss our upcoming Government Affairs Forum with Massachusetts State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg. Register now!
10/15/2024
9:45am - 11:00am
Bank of America
Go deeper than basic DEI training to achieve higher productivity, satisfaction, and revenue growth with our new corporate workshop.
Join our Transformational DEI Certificate! Our comprehensive learning & development offerings are designed to connect and grow strong leaders who lead both inside and out of the office.
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.
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).
The Fierce Urgency of Now Festival brings Boston’s diverse young professionals together with business leaders, organizations, and their peers to build connection, advance careers and ignite positive change.
09/14/2024 -
09/17/2024
Suffolk University - Sargent Hall
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 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.
We support small business through public policy initiatives, events designed to connect small businesses in Greater Boston to their peers and established business leaders, professional development offerings, and free small business advising.
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.
May 21, 2021
The Chamber submitted the following letter to Senate regarding transportation amendments to S.3, the fiscal 2022 budget proposal:
Dear President Spilka and Chairman Rodrigues,
I am writing to share the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s position on the following proposed transportation amendments to the Senate Ways and Means FY 2022 budget proposal:
SUPPORT Amendment #1: Permanent MBTA Governance Board
The Chamber supports a permanent Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board of directors (MBTA Board) to replace the Fiscal and Management Control Board and recommends three refinements to strengthen the proposed board’s operations. The new MBTA Board must have the ability to operate independently, therefore we recommend granting the MBTA Board the authority to appoint the general manager position. To strengthen and maintain the Board’s independence, any ex officio members should not have voting powers. Finally, to reflect its large financial contribution to the system, the City of Boston should have a designated seat on the MBTA Board.
SUPPORT Amendment #23: Transportation Network Companies
The Chamber strongly supports increased TNC fees and data collection requirements. This amendment reintroduces language that was vetoed by Governor Baker as part of the Transportation Bond Bill. With a date for full reopening set, we must prepare to create and manage a 21st century transportation system.
One tool to create a 21st century transportation system should be changing the fee structure for TNC trips. While commuting patterns will change to a degree, TNCs will continue to draw riders away from public transit and contribute to congestion, especially in urban areas. The state should structure fees to incentivize shared transportation and distribute the revenue to invest in regional transportation authorities across the state. The Chamber also strongly supports an additional surcharge on luxury rides, which introduces a greater degree of equity to transportation funding mechanisms.
SUPPORT Amendment #12: Shovel Ready MBTA Capital Projects
The Chamber supports intentional investment to design and prepare shovel ready projects that improve transit options and reduce carbon emissions. The MBTA will be better positioned to secure and deploy federal funding when it becomes available if it has shovel-ready projects. Accelerating project delivery is key to ensuring the MBTA creates the 21st century transportation system the region needs to thrive.
SUPPORT Amendment #7: Commuter Benefits
The Chamber supports aligning the state with the federal tax code by increasing the amount of public transit costs that can be paid with pre-tax income from $140 per month to $265 per month. This change would promote public transit usage by simplifying the process for employers who wish to provide pre-tax commuter benefits and make public transit a more affordable commuting option for riders. We also support the expansion of the commuter tax deduction to include bike repair costs and bike share costs, as this helps encourage alternative forms of transportation in the commonwealth.
OPPOSE Amendment #4: Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) Operating Assistance
The Chamber opposes this amendment because it eliminates the requirement that $3.5 million in Regional Transit Authority (RTA) funding be distributed as performance-based grants. We support the funding being tied to performance-based grants because these grants encourage RTAs to explore ways to improve service in their regions. We encourage RTAs to work with large employers in their regions to ensure that service is meeting the needs of employees as we continue to return to the workplace.
The Chamber looks forward to continuing to work with the Legislature on both the FY2022 budget and improving our transportation infrastructure. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.
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Benjamin Stuart
Senior Director, Technology & Business Systems
[email protected]617-557-7355
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