It looks like the House Speaker woke up and decided his branch of the legislature needed to work on SOMETHING this year, so a tax proposal is moving and today the House announced a $1 billion life sciences bill—which the Governor announced almost a year ago in May 2007. The proposal includes several initiatives, including support for UMass, which the Governor also proposed. In fact, I’m not exactly clear on what’s so different from the Governor’s proposal, but I am very glad the House has decided to take action on this item and others. And personally, I commend the support for UMass Amherst & Worcester & Dartmouth (for Ryan’s sake) . http://www.boston.com/news/loc…
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It still 1/3 the size of California’s version, and about 4 years late(r), but its better late than never.
we just don’t have that kind of cash lying around here in Massachusetts.
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p>This plan has potential to do a lot of good – and I’m very glad it’s UMASS-oriented, as well, because we have a great public college system that’s ready to compete with any private university in Boston.
it seems as though many life sciences/stem cell firms have already aligned in CA, which may be an irreversible path-dependent process.
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p>not blaming Patrick or the Leg, we had a Guv running for the Republican presidential nomination…
Once Governor Patrick learns how to play “the game,” he will become a truly top-notch governor. I strongly believe that this administration has a great future.
You should see what he cut from the budget to make this happen. DMR line items have been cut, and unrestricted local aid was flat-lined.
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p>Don’t get me wrong – this is a good thing. But it comes with a price tag.