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Date: 2/20/2019
EAST LONGMEADOW – Famed 19th Century newspaper editor Horace Greeley once wrote “Go West, young man!’ urging people to consider the opportunities in the American West.
Today, State Sen. Eric Lesser has a similar message about the advantages of living and working in Western Massachusetts with a bill that would an incentive to being a new resident of the four western counties.
Lesser’s proposed legislation would create a pilot program to encourage remote workers to relocate here.
In an interview with Reminder Publishing, Lesser explained the Commonwealth offering incentives for business to relocate or stay is common. He cited the recent effort to bring the headquarters of GE to Massachusetts, a move that state was backing with cash incentives. GE just announced it was returning $87 million because the company’s plans have changed.
The senator said his Western Massachusetts Remote Worker Incentive Program bill would encourage new remote workers who work for in-state and out-of-state employers to live in Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin or Berkshire County, by providing financial assistance for qualifying remote worker expenses. The pilot program, if enacted, would be capped to $1 million over a three-year period.
According to the legislation, “Qualifying remote worker expenses means actual costs a new remote worker incurs for one or more of the following that are necessary to perform her or his employment duties, including but not limited to relocation to Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin or Berkshire County; computer software and hardware; broadband access or upgrade; and membership in a co-working or similar space.
“A new remote worker may be eligible for a grant under the program for qualifying remote worker expenses in the amount of not more than $5,000 per year, not to exceed a total of $10,000 per individual new remote worker over the life of the program.
“The department of economic development shall award grants under the program on a first-come, first-served basis, as follows: not more than $250,000 in calendar year 2020; not more than $500,000 in calendar year 2021; not more than $250,000 in calendar year 2022.”
The money could help pay for moving expenses, equipment or establishing a home office, Lesser said. He noted that unlike standard incentive program in which funds go to a company, this money “goes directly to the worker and is spent locally.”
Western Massachusetts has a “huge problem,” according to lesser. The population is “greying,” which has resulted in school enrollments to decline and local companies not being to find the employees they require.
Lesser believes that “many people in major markets are getting sick of the grind.”
The location of the region – relatively close to Boston and New York City – as well as the growing presence of rail strengthen the argument for relocation, Lesser said. If the state eventually invests in east-west commuter rail service, “Western Massachusetts would be a Mecca.”
A report from Global Traffic Scorecard, which ranks traffic congestion, was released this month and noted that Boston has the worst rush hour traffic in the nation.
Lesser said members of the General Court from the Boston area have taken positive interest in his bill as they see increasing population density adding problems to their area besides traffic gridlock. The price of housing is becoming out of the reach for many people.
He said, “We’ve got to try new ideas to reverse this thing [aging of the population].”
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In a related move, Lesser announced on Feb. 19 he is filing a bill that would reallocate part of the $87 million returned to the state by GE.
His “An Act to invest more in middle class jobs and less in the relocation of out-of-state corporations” would direct “any grants over $20 million that have been issued to municipalities or other public agencies to incentivize corporations to relocate to Massachusetts – but have since been rescinded – toward vocational schools and school districts that include one or more vocational schools.”
The bill’s description continied, “The grants will be used to fund the design, construction and renovation of vocational-technical education programs, as well as equipment purchases and installation that will enable the schools to expand capacity and reduce student waitlists.”
In a written statement, Lesser said, “Let’s do what it actually takes to create middle class jobs. We have long waiting lists at our vocational schools across the Commonwealth to train young people in high-need fields like advanced manufacturing, 3-D printing and building trades. We have thousands of available positions in high-paying fields in every corner of our state that are going unfilled because of the backlog at our career and technical training centers. Instead of giving massive tax breaks and incentives to corporations, which will likely park those payments on Wall Street, let’s invest that money in our local workforce and support the families and businesses that are already here and are looking for work.”