The following is an excerpt from a State House News Service story originally published on August 7, 2024:
Lawmakers charged with hashing out the stalled economic development bill remained tight-lipped about the status of closed-door negotiations Wednesday, even as House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka have publicly expressed a willingness to return for a formal session once a deal is reached.
Sen. Barry Finegold, the lead Senate negotiator on the conference committee, did not answer questions on whether the panel has met since the end of formal lawmaking last week and whether he’s eyeing a certain timeline to strike a compromise.
“I still remain hopeful that an economic development bill can get done this session,” Finegold told the News Service.
The MassBio trade group has repeatedly urged the Legislature to approve an economic development package that reauthorizes the life sciences initiative at $1 billion over the next decade.
“MassBio and our membership are grateful to Governor Healey, Speaker Mariano, and Senate President Spilka for demonstrating effective leadership and a true commitment to exploring a special session to finalize this historic economic development bill,” MassBio President Kendalle Burlin O’Connell said in a statement Wednesday. “Approving a Life Sciences Initiative for another full $1 billion over the next decade as part of a broader package is an appropriate recognition that the state’s competitiveness and economic well-being are at stake. It would be a powerful signal of the Commonwealth’s resolve to keep a leadership position that drives the local economy and better patient outcomes around the world.”
Democrats couldn’t agree on the economic development bill and many others despite meeting through the night on July 31. There’s been talk since about trying to revive the bill but it didn’t surface during Monday’s informal sessions. Both branches meet again on Thursday.