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Creating a Much Brighter Outlook

Pace LaVia

Massachusetts leads the nation in a lot of fundamental benchmarks, but apparently being a nice place to live isn’t one of them. The Bay State has landed in lowly 31st place in a recent YouGov survey on the best U.S. states. However — in our own defense — the study wasn’t very scientific. In fact, it was more of a personality contest, really. 

On the positive side, the state saw its lowest week of unemployment claims since the you-know-what began 13 months ago. But businesses across the state are being hammered by an increase in unemployment tax. And they’re not going to take it sitting down.

Also this past week, the House produced its fiscal 2021 budget, creating a much brighter outlook for post-pandemic government operations than previously expected. We’ve also got interesting news about the state’s potential to become the nation’s leader in offshore wind energy, the 350-foot tower going over the Mass Pike near Fenway, another pot shop unionizing in the Bay State, and the recent derailment at the MBTA is keeping new subway cars out of service.

And as usual, we’ve curated dozens more of the most important news stories related to politics, business, energy, transportation, real estate in Massachusetts. You’ll find links at the end of each section. 

And here we go...

Politics

House Budget Teed Up For Debate Next Week

The freshly unveiled House budget proposal calls for $47.6 billion to be spent over the course of fiscal 2021. That’s nearly $1.8 billion more than was recommended in Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposed budget — an overage of nearly four percent and proposed spending is 2.6% higher than the previous budget. 

The plan has two major priorities — helping residents who have been set back by the pandemic and creating jobs. That is according to House Speaker Ronald Mariano who spoke to reporters Wednesday. The plan also included a nearly $220 million increase in Chapter 70 education aid to school districts and creates a $40 million reserve fund also earmarked for schools.

Mariano warned that current revenue projections are more than $1 billion below what they were in January of 2020. On the other hand, the budget leaves some reserves in the state’s $3.5 billion “rainy day fund” and also doesn’t factor in $4.5 billion in federal aid expected to arrive later this year. The plan doesn’t include any major changes to the state’s tax code. 

The House will debate the budget and make any changes before it then heads off to the Senate for more massaging. Once both legislative bodies have approved their respective budgets a six-member committee made up of three House and three Senate members will hammer out the final concessions. It then heads to Gov. Baker who can sign it outright or issue line item vetoes which lawmakers may override. 

More details on the budget can be found here.

Meanwhile back in Washington, the federal government recently gave its opinion on where money needs to be spent in the Bay State. The state received a C-minus on its infrastructure report card. Here are some of the findings from that report:

  • 472 bridges and more than 1,194 miles of road in Massachusetts are in disrepair. 

  • Commute times have risen by 10.9% in Massachusetts since 2011.

  • Drivers are paying an average of $620 per year for wear and tear on their vehicles as a result of driving on poorly maintained roads. 

  • Public transportation costs an extra 52.9% of commuters’ time. (Non-white households are twice as likely to commute via public transportation.)

  • 23% of public transportation vehicles in the state are out of date.

  • $12.2 billion in additional funding will be needed over the next 20 years to improve the state’s drinking water infrastructure. 

Patch has more info on the federal infrastructure plan.

More Politics

Business

Unemployment Insurance Solvency Fund Rate Up 16-Fold Since Pandemic

The Retailers Association of Massachusetts sent a nice letter to Gov. Charlie Baker and the state legislature. They’re politely asking about the projected $4 billion-plus deficit in the state Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and the recent massive increases in the employee contribution rate on state tax notices. 

All Mass. employers are looking at higher tax bills to offset the historic unemployment-related debt. RAM President Jon Hurst, Massachusetts Restaurant Association President Bob Luz, and the heads of 17 Bay State chambers of commerce signed the letter.

In the letter, Hurst et al suggest that federal aid be earmarked to repair the deficit in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. However, the CARES Act funds come with lots of strings attached making that solution a bit tricky. Federal guidance on relief spending is expected in mid-May.

In an attempt to ease the pain, lawmakers have authorized $7 billion in borrowing. The Baker administration is also delaying the UI tax payment deadline to June 1 so that state officials can address the nearly 16-fold ballooning of the solvency fund rate which increased from 0.58% to 9.23% due to the pandemic.

The good news is that Massachusetts just had its lowest unemployment rate since the beginning of the pandemic. And nationwide, seasonally adjusted initial claims dropped by nearly 200,000, down from 576,000 the previous week. And according to data from Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights initiative, two million Massachusettsites are now fully vaccinated and consumer spending is up 18% over January 2020.

More Business

Energy

A little over a decade ago, in a big bet in offshore wind power, MassCEC built the Marine Commerce Terminal — a staging area the size of 22 football fields designed to withstand the weight required to assemble offshore wind turbines. It’s the only staging area of its kind in the country. According to a report by WBUR, MassCEC is a “quasi-governmental economic development agency, with a mission to spur the growth of clean energy jobs and infrastructure in the state.” 

The key takeaway from the report:

“This week, MassCEC's bet may finally start to pay off. The federal government is expected to make a major decision about Vineyard Wind, the first large-scale wind farm in the United States, slated to be built off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. The ruling represents the last big obstacle the project needs to overcome before construction can begin.

This long-awaited decision could pave the way for a massive offshore wind industry not just in Massachusetts, but also up and down the Atlantic Coast.

While they await the decision, the New Bedford terminal has been leasing the port to other marine cargo operations. The facility has also been a staging ground for terrestrial wind and solar projects.

If the federal government gives the go-ahead, Vineyard Wind is positioned to become the first biggest offshore wind farm in the U.S. with 62 turbines about 12 miles off Martha’s Vineyard island. The facility will produce enough electricity to power 400,000 homes.

Read all about it over at WBUR’s website.

More Energy News

Transportation

New MBTA Trains Out of Service For 3 More Weeks 

Last month, one of the MBTA’s newest trains derailed. It’s not clear if the incident should be blamed on the train or the track. Nonetheless, the fleet of shiny new Orange and Red line cars will remain out of service for at least three more weeks while this all gets sorted out. 

The train involved in the incident was traveling slowly when the third car on the train derailed with about 100 passengers on board. No injuries were reported. The track was replaced and trains are now running again between Sullivan Square Station and Oak Grove. 

Also Monday, MBTA officials discussed plans to spend $2 billion on repairs and upgrades in the next fiscal year.

More Transportation News

Real Estate

Boston’s World Class Skyline To Undergo Renovation 

The Fenway Center project to build a massive 350-foot tower over the Massachusetts Turnpike between Beacon Street and Brookline Avenue is underway. Developers have paid $55 million to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation for “air-rights” for the structure, according to the Boston Globe. 

The complex will feature not just commercial space but also green space and walking paths over the highway. The project will significantly change the view for commuters entering the city from the West. 

The first phase of the project is to build a $200 million steel deck to act as a foundation for the monstrous structure. It’s going to take two years just to build the deck. Meanwhile, one lane will be closed on the Mass Pike in each direction.

More Real Estate

Cannabis

Employees of Marijuana Dispensary In Hanover Unionized

After a year of haggling, employees of a Curaleaf medical marijuana dispensary in Hanover, Massachusetts, have voted to join the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local Union 328. The Union says it’s currently negotiating a contract with Curaleaf. 

There has been a recent trend toward unionizing cannabis dispensaries in other states as well including an MMJ grower in Rhode Island and another cannabis cultivation and processing facility in Massachusetts.

MJ Biz Daily has a report.

More Cannabis News

More of the Latest Massachusetts News