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BOSTON (State House News Service) - With all eyes on Beacon Hill turned toward tax cuts as an avenue to make the state more competitive, Gov. Maura Healey is making a pitch for people and industries to "come to Massachusetts" -- where "we believe in health care, we believe in science... we protect reproductive freedom, we protect freedom."
The University of Massachusetts Amherst ordered 15,000 doses of mifepristone last week at Healey's request, and the governor issued an executive order to protect medication abortion access from out-of-state prosecution, shortly after a federal judge in Texas suspended FDA approval of the abortion pill.
Healey is now using the abortion rights as a selling point for Massachusetts, at a time when the subject of people moving out of the state is driving policy.
"I'm so proud of Massachusetts," Healey said to a national audience on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show Monday night. "I hope we'll see more states come forward and enact the same protections that we've enacted here to make sure that women get access to the health care they need, and I also say to the rest of the country -- come to Massachusetts. We're a great state. Great place to live, great place to earn a living, great place to grow a family. And by the way, we're going to protect your freedom."
It was similar to the message Boston Mayor Michelle Wu delivered outside the State House Monday while applauding Healey's mifepristone executive order.
"To the residents of Massachusetts and of Boston. We got your back. You are safe, you are protected. And we will always fight for you. And even more loudly to the residents of other states across the country -- you can vote, we encourage and we'll fight alongside you. But you can also move to Massachusetts," Wu said. "To the students in high school who are making decisions right now about where to go to college, move to Massachusetts where our universities are standing shoulder to shoulder with elected leadership and fighting for you and protecting you. To the companies looking to fill vacancies and seeking workforce, move to Massachusetts where your employees will be able to be cared for their whole lives. To the health care professionals who swore an oath not to do harm, to save lives, and are questioning why you are in this fight alone in other states -- move to Massachusetts."
Competitiveness has been a consistent theme throughout Healey's first (nearly) 100 days on the job. Though most discussion of competition has been around how she and lawmakers can reform tax policy to attract residents and industries that could find cheaper alternatives in other parts of the country, Healey seems ready to push other policies as well to bring people into the state.
Addressing business leaders Tuesday morning, she included abortion and reproductive rights in her list of the ways she'll out-compete other states. The governor identified the issue as something that differentiates the state from places like Austin, Texas and North Carolina, two states that compete with Massachusetts for biotechnology companies.
"I know what's going on in North Carolina, I know what's going on in Austin," she told the New England Council. "I hope yesterday reminds folks though, why you should be in Massachusetts... If you set up operations down there, maybe there are benefits to that -- but at what cost to your employees?"
She added later, "When we talk about interstate migration -- I grew up in New Hampshire, I don't want people to go to New Hampshire. I'd rather they stay here because you know what, your kids are going to get educated, you're going to have access to health care, we protect your freedom, whether you're an LGBT kid or a woman in need of abortion."
In addition to social issues, Healey's competitiveness pitch relies on her tax reform plan -- which is moving through the legislative process and emerged in a redrafted form from the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday -- and her pledge to work for federal dollars.
The administration last month named former Obama administration political appointee and candidate for attorney general Quentin Palfrey as the state's first director of federal funds and infrastructure. In the role, Palfrey is charged with working across secretariats to work to capture federal funds for infrastructure, climate and economic development projects.
"We're in an unprecedented moment of opportunity, and we have a unique opportunity to aggressively compete for billions of federal dollars for crucial infrastructure for our climate and development projects from the Inflation Reduction Act to the bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPS and Science Act and beyond... we're talking about billions of dollars," Palfrey said to the Local Government Advisory Commission on Tuesday afternoon.
He explained to municipal leaders how his newly-created position would help get dollars to cities and towns for local projects.
"We also have a unique opportunity in the alignment between the Biden-Harris administration's priorities, our wonderful delegation, and the priorities of the Healey-Driscoll administration. I got a call yesterday from Sen. Warren just underscoring that we've got to go out and get some of these resources," Palfrey said.
Healey pledged last month that no one will "compete harder as your governor than me" when it comes to abundant federal dollars available right now.
She announced in March that the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition, through the support of her administration and MassTech Collaborative, submitted a proposal to the federal government to turn the region into a hub for semiconductor and microtechnology development, funded by the recently passed CHIPS and Science Act. The state also joined a regional partnership to attract federal dollars to create a "clean hydrogen ecosystem" hub.
Healey said on Tuesday that the Northeast hydrogen hub, which she said was Energy and Environmental Secretary Rebecca Tepper's idea, is "going to create tons of opportunities for good paying jobs, local jobs and prioritize equity."
"We're talking about serious federal dollars out there to decarbonize industries, that's what we're competing for... [Tepper] said, if we're going to do this work, we need to be thinking regionally," the governor said.
Meanwhile, the House seems to be in step with the administration on the importance of creating a more competitive state, as Speaker Ron Mariano emphasized drawing industries to Massachusetts with components of the tax reform plan that was released Tuesday afternoon.
House Democrats included a reduction in the short-term capital gains tax rate in their version of the bill, as Healey did, despite progressive opposition to the policy. The business community has commended the proposed tax cut and said it will help bring more companies into Massachusetts.
"Looking at where we are nationally in the cap gains rating, I think we're the fifth highest in the country," Mariano told reporters on Tuesday. "The competitiveness issue is real. As we face challenges from states like North Carolina, with some of the bio stuff, as we compete... capital gains is an important factor to investors. And we want to attract investment. We want to attract folks that want to be here."
Written By Sam Drysdale/SHNS
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