ECONOMIC RESPONSE
Essential Service Designations:
- In conjunction with Governor Baker’s order to close all non-essential businesses, he issued a list of those that qualify as essential services: health care/public health/human services, law enforcement, public safety, first responders, food and agriculture, energy workers, water and wastewater workers, transportation and logistics workers, public works employees, communications and IT, community-based and government operations, critical manufacturing, hazardous materials and chemicals, financial services, and defense employees. (March 23)
Labor & Workforce Guidance, Standards and Regulations:
- Massachusetts issued mandatory safety standards for workplaces which will apply universally to all reopening workplaces. Details can be found here.
- Massachusetts released additional reopening guidance for Child Care, Camps, and Summer Recreational Programs and Close Contact Personal Services.
- The Massachusetts Legislature passed a bill that would require employers to provide up to 40 hours of COVID-19 emergency paid sick leave (“COVID Leave”) to their employees, to be made available either through September 30, or until the exhaustion of $75,000,000 in program funds – whichever is earlier. (June 2)
- Governor Baker announced the creation of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, which provides unemployment benefits for individuals who are not eligible for regular unemployment benefits, including “self-employed workers, independent contractors, gig economy workers, and those with limited work history.” (April 20)
Economic Stimulus & Relief:
- The Baker administration announced $3.2 million in grants and contracts to community-based organizations as part of the Massachusetts Vaccine Equity Initiative to increase awareness and access to the COVID-19 vaccine in the 20 cities. (June 8)
- The Baker administration announced $70 million in funding for school districts and community organizations to offer summer learning and recreational programs to help students impacted by a year of remote and hybrid learning. (April 30)
- The Baker administration announced that $30.4 million in grants would be awarded to 602 additional Massachusetts businesses though state’s the COVID-19 business relief program. (April 26)
- The Baker administration announced $100 million in funding for four communities – Chelsea, Everett, Methuen and Randolph – that are all designated hardest hit communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. (March 25)
- The Baker Administration announced approximately $14.6 million in awards for 295 additional businesses in the eleventh round of COVID relief grants administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation. (March 25)
- Governor Baker announced a targeted outreach initiative in 20 cities and towns most disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, and allocated $1 million to the MA League of Community Health Centers to support vaccination in “historically underserved communities.” (February 16)
- Governor Baker signed a $626 million capital bill focused on housing, business competitiveness, and community development. It included a five-year roadmap for capital authorizations and key policy provisions to support economic growth and improve housing stability. (February 9)
- The Baker administration re-filed unemployment insurance legislation initially filed last month. The Governor’s legislation aimed to sustain unemployment benefits and provide an estimated $1.3 billion in unemployment insurance relief to the Commonwealth’s employers over two years. The legislation would also propose financing measures designed to ensure the solvency of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and that federal borrowing that has occurred is repaid in a responsible and affordable manner. (January 13)
- The Baker administration announced over $4.7 million in grants to address urgent food insecurity for residents across the Commonwealth as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. (November 24)
- Baker administration announced $5.9 million in grants to address urgent food insecurity for residents across the Commonwealth as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. (October 28)
- Baker administration announced a $774 million comprehensive plan to stabilize and grow the Massachusetts economy. The plan focused on getting people back to work, supporting small businesses, fostering innovation, revitalizing downtowns, and ensuring housing stability. Partnerships for Recovery began by directing $115 million in new funding to small businesses and Main Streets hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and for workforce training efforts. (October 22)
- The Baker administration awarded over $6.5 million to 13 Massachusetts organizations to develop new products to assist in the response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The new grants from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Emergency Response Team would expand the Commonwealth’s work to drive in-state manufacturing of critical products. (October 15)
- The Baker administration announced over $5.5 million in grants to address urgent food insecurity for Massachusetts residents as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. (September 30)
- The Baker administration announced a new grant program to help prevent and reduce the spread of COVID-19 in communities of color. Open to applicants until October 14, the $650,000 grant program was available to faith-based organizations and community groups serving Black, Latinx, and other people of color in cities and towns hardest hit by COVID-19. (September 23)
- Governor Baker announced another $5 million in Massachusetts Department of Transportation and federal CARES Act funding would be made available through the Shared Streets & Spaces program, which helps create space for socially distanced commerce, dining and walking. (September 10)
- Governor Baker and Lieutenant Governor Polito announced the launch of My Local MA to encourage residents of the Commonwealth to support their local economies by shopping at local Massachusetts businesses and attractions, safely – in person, online, and using curbside pickup or takeout. (August 26)
- The Baker administration received approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to distribute $300 per week in addition to regular unemployment benefits to those who qualify. (August 25)
- The Baker administration announced $3.3 million in grants for combatting food insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (August 18)
- The Baker administration announced $1.8 billion in capital funding for new public safety, food security, and information technology measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (August 7)
Business Support & Resources:
- The Baker administration announced nearly $31 million in awards to 710 additional small businesses in the tenth round of COVID-19 relief grants administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation. (March 18)
- The Baker administration announced approximately $39.7 million in awards for 1,026 additional businesses in the ninth round of COVID relief grants administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation. (March 4)
- The Baker administration announced approximately $173.9 million in awards to 4,043 additional small businesses in the sixth round of COVID relief grants administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation. (February 4)
- The Baker administration awarded over $45 million in grants to 1,100 new small businesses through COVID relief program. (January 28)
- The Baker administration announced $37.4 million in awards to 638 additional small businesses in the fourth round of grants through the COVID-19 Small Business Grant Program. (January 22)
- The Baker administration announced three new programs to boost internet connectivity statewide, including a subsidy program to assist job seekers in the MassHire system that are facing a technology barrier. (January 5)
- The Baker administration announced $67.4 million in awards to 1,366 additional small businesses in a second round of grants through the COVID-19 Small Business Grant Program administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation. (December 31)
- The Baker administration launched a $668 million program to provide financial assistance to small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program in part relies on the pending federal COVID-19 relief bill recently passed by Congress. (December 23)
- The Baker administration announced that nearly $49 million in grants to small businesses would be awarded through the COVID-19 Small Business Grant Program administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation. (December 21)
- Governor Baker, Lieutenant Governor Polito, Senate President Spilka, and House Speaker DeLeo announced an extension of administrative tax relief measures for local businesses impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, especially in the restaurant and hospitality sectors. (September 15)
- The Baker administration announced $20 million would be allocated to support social services and small businesses through the Community Development Block Grant program. (July 16)
- Governor Baker announced additional administrative tax relief measures for Massachusetts businesses, especially those in the restaurant and hospitality sectors. (June 19)