Joyce announces Senate passage of jobs bill

State Senator Brian A. Joyce joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate to pass a jobs bill containing $63 million for various economic development initiatives, including enhancing workforce training programs to get residents back to work, supporting entrepreneurship in the commonwealth, redeveloping polluted sites, changing the way liquor licenses are handled in Massachusetts cities and towns, and more.

“Though our unemployment rate has been declining, there are still many skilled and hardworking people looking for jobs, and we need to continue to create an environment that fosters continuing education and economic growth,” said Joyce.

The bill provides funding for job training programs, including $15 million for the Middle Skills Job Training Grant Fund, which aims to train 4,000 workers over the next four years to meet the needs of Massachusetts employers; $750,000 for a program to encourage residents to finish high school and obtain an associate’s degree; and $1.5 million for a matching grant program to implement computer science education in schools.

It also gives Massachusetts industries tools to grow with initiatives like $10 million to redevelop vacant and abandoned commercial and industrial properties; funding to identify growth opportunities in manufacturing and avert layoffs; and an Angel Investor Tax Credit to foster growth in start-ups.

The legislation also allows liquor licenses to be controlled on a local level instead of working through the legislature. Joyce sponsored an amendment that would make liquor licenses non-transferable to level the playing field for businesses seeking liquor licenses regardless of size and ensuring communities, not license holders, reap the benefits from the sale of the licenses. He also supported another amendment reducing the threshold for Gateway Cities from 35,000 to 20,000, which would make some communities in Joyce’s district — including Canton — eligible for a range of additional grant programs.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Jul 12 2014. Filed under Business. Both comments and pings are currently closed.