A proposed $2 billion expansion of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC) has been approved by the Convention Partnership, a state panel, according to reports.

The expansion – which would include adding an adjacent 1,200-room hotel, increasing meeting space and a second exhibit hall – still needs to earn approval from the state Legislature, the city of Boston and the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority.

In addition to endorsing the expansion, the 27-member state panel recommended that $4 million be spent by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority to find additional parking and other amenities necessary for the project to succeed.

Mac Daniel, spokesperson for the MCCA, said the group approved moving forward to recommend that the state Legislature investigate the building of a headquarters hotel near the BCEC, as well as possibly expanding the convention center itself. However, some members, including Sam Tyler, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, and Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association, both voiced concerns about this initiative compared with other state priorities.

The group is still looking at two pieces of land for a hotel. One is a U.S. Postal Service parcel currently used to train drivers that is west of the BCEC and south of Summer Street. The other is a MassPort-owned parcel across Summer Street from the Westin Boston Waterfont.