$1 billion life-sciences bill passes Senate
Funding targets jobs, research
The Senate passed a bill authorizing $1 billion in tax breaks and spending on life-sciences programs just in time for Governor Deval Patrick's trip to San Diego next week for a major international biotechnology convention.
The bill, a cornerstone of Patrick's economic agenda for the state, has been touted as a way to bring new jobs to Massachusetts and help the state retain its reputation as a hub of life-sciences research. It passed yesterday in the Senate 31-7, and Patrick is expected to sign it Monday.
"Massachusetts is committed [to] being in the vanguard in this field," Patrick said in a statement yesterday. "This targeted funding and investment strategy will create new jobs, spur innovative research, and strengthen investments in higher education and workforce training . . . creating a pipeline to guide ideas to cures."
During its more than a year in the Legislature, the bill had become larded with legislators' earmarks for projects, including a $49.5 million science center at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams even though the college has no graduate program in science. Last month, three university presidents - Drew Faust of Harvard, Susan Hockfield of MIT, and Jack Wilson of UMass - criticized the bill's emphasis on individual earmarks and, in a pointed letter, asked lawmakers to give industry and academic specialists greater voice in how the state's money is invested.
State Representative Daniel Bosley, Democrat of North Adams, who chaired the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, ultimately withdrew the science center proposal, which would have benefited his alma mater.
The final version of the bill, pending Patrick's signature, calls for $500 million in spending on capital improvements over 10 years, including about $299 million in designated funding, most of which will benefit the university system. Among the largest appropriations: $95 million for a life-sciences research center at UMass-Amherst, $90 million to UMass Medical School in Worcester, and $10 million for a biomanufacturing facility at UMass-Lowell.
Another $40 million has been earmarked to fund projects like a $6.5 million business incubator in Pittsfield, $25.5 million in roadway improvements in Framingham and along Interstate 93 in Andover that would allow for business expansion plans, $9.5 million to Tufts Veterinary Medical School Biosafety Lab, and $9 million for a life-sciences center in Taunton.
The state will award another $250 million in tax credits, under the bill, and will allocate another $250 million in grants.
State Senator Jack Hart, a Boston Democrat who co-chaired the economic development committee, called the bill's passage a "special day for Massachusetts."
The earmarked funding that remained in the bill fulfilled promises made by the governor.
"Those [earmarks] were universally agreed upon by the House, the Senate, and the governor to satisfy his commitment to building infrastructure for companies willing to locate or expand in Massachusetts," Hart said.
Kyle Sullivan, a spokesman for the governor, said the final bill reflects the governor's priorities.
Megan Woolhouse can be reached at mwoolhouse@globe.com.
