Government Affairs Update
Federal Affairs:
At the end of April, the US Department of Labor announced a final rule from the Biden Administration dealing with salary workers and overtime pay. The new rule will raise the salary threshold under which salaried employees are eligible for overtime in two stages. The first, starting on July 1, will raise the threshold to the equivalent of an annual salary of $43,888 or $844 a week, and then to $58,656 or $1,128 a week on January 1, 2025. Starting on July 1, 2027, the salary threshold will be updated every three years. This rule updates the current threshold of $35,568 or $684 per week that was put in place in 2019 during the Trump Administration. The Chamber is continuing to monitor this issue.
State Affairs:
In March, the Chamber gathered members of the region’s legislative delegation for our Annual Legislative Briefing. We engaged in productive dialogue surrounding our priorities for FY25 in the areas of small business support, tourism, and education and workforce. The meeting also provided an opportunity to showcase the efforts of the Chamber and our members during the past year and provide an update on our One North Central Initiatives.
As highlighted in her administration’s economic development plan, Governor Maura Healey is placing a focus on tourism as a way to bring more revenue to the Commonwealth. Following a decade long hiatus, the Healey-Driscoll administration brought back the annual Governor’s Tourism Conference. The daylong event provided the opportunity for us tourism affiliate, Visit North Central Massachusetts, to showcase the latest version of our guide, and interact with other regional tourism councils and stakeholders. The administration also unveiled the logo for the Massachusetts 250th anniversary campaign.
The House passed their version of a budget bill for FY25 in late-April to the tune of $58 billion. The budget aims to push overall state spending up by around 3.3 percent, but lawmakers are more conservative heading into this year with less than anticipated revenues coming in over the past year. The Chamber spent time in April leveraging our relationships with the regional delegation and our multiple coalitions we are a part of to advocate for a number of priorities in the areas of economic development, workforce, education and tourism throughout the budget process. At the time of this writing, the Senate is preparing to unveil their initial version of the budget which will be followed by debate, and then conference committee to reconcile the different versions. We will continue our advocacy efforts throughout the remainder of the budget process.
In April, members of the Chamber’s Community Leadership Institute class were brought to Boston for their April session. The class was recognized in both the House and Senate Chambers with Senator John Cronin and Representatives Natalie Higgins, Meg Kilcoyne, and Mike Kushmerek and staff from Representative Kim Ferguson providing insight into the legislative process for both bodies. During a luncheon, Senator Jamie Eldridge also joined the delegation for a panel discussion on legislation they are currently working on. We were also joined by Secretary of State Bill Galvin, Secretary of Veterans Services Jon Santiago, and State Representative Kip Diggs for a policy discussion. The Chamber would like to extend our thanks to the regional delegation for their participation in this annual event and for taking the time to engage our CLI class.
Local Affairs:
The town of Sterling is looking to update its zoning, with a particular focus on their performance zone area near the West Boylston line. Chamber staff participated in a forum held by the town in March and met with the town’s Economic Development Committee in April where we discussed aspects of the One North Central plan that may be beneficial while working on updates.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Travis Condon, the Chamber’s public affairs manager, at 978.353.7600, ext. 224; or via email at .
