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Gov. Charlie Baker’s $3.5 billion economic development bill, one of his priorities for the remaining three months of formal lawmaking this year, will get its hearing Monday before the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.

The bill, which is nearly certain to pass the legislature in some form before the end of July, is built on the state’s remaining $2.3 billion in American Rescue Plan Act money and $1.2 billion in state bond authorizations. It aims to fund climate resilience and preservation projects, invest in downtown and community revitalization projects across Massachusetts, and address the state’s housing issues. Its hearing is planned for Monday at 10 a.m. in the State House.

Baker’s bill (H 4720) would direct dedicated project funding to each municipality in the state and the Executive Office for Administration and Finance last week circulated a list of projects and funding included in Baker’s so-called FORWARD bill (future opportunities for resiliency, workforce, and revitalized downtowns).

Boston, the state’s largest city, is due to get the most funding from the governor’s bill with more than $206.4 million spread across about 30 projects, while the community with the state’s smallest population, Gosnold, would be in line for $2 million for water and sewer projects. Rutland, the town at the geographic center of Massachusetts, is among those slated to get the minimum $250,000 in downtown recovery grant money.

Some communities would get one lump of funding under the governor’s bill for a specific project, like Foxborough, which would be in line for $4.59 million for a signal and sewer project on Walnut Street, or Hopkinton, which would get $2 million for the renovation of comfort stations at Hopkinton State Forest. Others would see a handful of projects funded, like Lowell, where $28.8 million would be divided up for offshore wind workforce training at UMass Lowell ($10 million), the second phase of the Tanner Street realignment project ($7 million), repairs to riverwalk trails and construction of a new playground at Lowell Heritage State Park ($5 million) and more.

Citing attempts by Congressional Republicans to secure the clawback of unspent ARPA money to cover the cost of new federal spending, Massachusetts Municipal Association Executive Director Geoff Beckwith wrote in the organization’s latest newsletter that Baker’s bill “provides an excellent vehicle to finish the ARPA appropriations process in time to avoid the risk of clawbacks that could be triggered when the new Congress convenes in January.”

Lawmakers Tee Up Monday Hearing on Baker’s Econ Dev Bill

by State House News Service time to read: 2 min
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