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Patrick Stumps for $1B Life Science BillBy Jim O'Sullivan - October 23, 2007
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State House News Service
BOSTON - Gov. Deval Patrick's administration is hoping an autumn push will rally support behind its $1 billion life science proposal, which aides say is a linchpin for the sector's economic growth and lawmakers see as an opportunity to spur other industries.
But with Patrick amplifying his dissatisfaction with the Legislature's clip, lawmakers with authority over his bill are giving signals that progress could be delayed until next year.
Top Patrick aides are taking a road show to company facilities and the University of Massachusetts at Worcester, slated under Patrick's plan to host the world's largest repository of stem cell lines, during which they hope to spotlight an industry often hailed as a sort of economic messiah, able to produce both job growth and life-saving cures. Patrick aides hold an event today at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge-based biopharmaceuticals company, to highlight potential regional benefits of the bill.
With Patrick’s casino proposal under attack from opponents over substance and from allies over management, his administration has hoped the 10-year life sciences proposal that drew bipartisan and bicameral support last spring will notch a policy victory for the governor as the legislative session winds down for the year.
Marked for a hearing next week, the plan calls for $500 million in capital funds, $250 million in research grants, and $250 million in tax benefit tied to job creation, state funds invested over a 10-year period. Another $250 million would come from private sector matching funds. [The bill is among those that includes funding for the proposed science building at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams.]
Since debuting in outline form May 8 during an international life sciences convention in Boston, the bill has seen a steady ebbing of support. Both House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi and Senate President Therese Murray stood with Patrick during the announcement, but have lately pointed to the bill, which was filed July 19, as a potential vehicle to aid other industries.
DiMasi said earlier this month he hopes to pass a version of the legislation this fall. But an e-mail sent to members of the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies last week instructed them that "a series of hearings held across the state" would last "through January," signaling that at least some major portions of the bill won't clear the Legislature until next year.
The bill's first hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30 before the committee, chaired on the House side by Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, a former Patrick ally who has become the governor's high-profile adversary on the casino question. In a television appearance Thursday, Patrick questioned Bosley's credibility on casinos, in the wake of the chairman's criticism of the proposal as unfeasible.
Earlier this month, Murray told a group of business leaders, "I expect with further examination and legislative input it could be a major economic development package." The same day, hours after Patrick had urged biotech leaders to help him lobby Beacon Hill for the legislation, DiMasi agreed with Murray, both listing other industries that should be allowed to compete for state assistance.
A DiMasi spokesman declined to discuss specific changes the House speaker wants made to the bill.
"I think that all of that's being looked at. I wouldn't want to pre-judge what the committee's working on," he said, adding that DiMasi remains committed to a "significant investment" in life sciences.
Gambling Distractions
In public remarks recently, Patrick has sought to shift attention away from the struggling casino bill, and instead underscore other plans he's filed with the Legislature but have not become law. Last week, Patrick began to confront his counterweights in the Legislature more aggressively, complaining about the pace of the legislative process.
"I went [to Beacon Hill] for a reason," he said Thursday night on NECN. "And the people sent me there for a reason. And the folks who want to be a part of this and want to help and want to improve on these ideas, or put their own alternatives on the table, I think will get the support and the respect of the people. And the ones who don't will have to answer to the people."
An administration source said the tour would likely last between six and eight weeks.
Asked about the prospect of an extended legislative process, Patrick press secretary Kyle Sullivan said, "We are focused on the governor's legislation as filed. The administration continues to make its case to both legislators and the general public on [the] importance of this legislation and the life sciences to the Massachusetts economy. We look forward to the hearing on the bill and consideration by the full Legislature in the near future."
On Thursday, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center is expected to advance plans for the stem cell bank and a registry of stem cells, along with matching grants intended to close funding gaps.
A supplementary budget the Legislature passed and Patrick signed earlier this month contained $15 million for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Investment Fund, more than doubling the total the fund can dole out for life science projects. |
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