BOSTON (State House News Service) — Gov. Maura Healey has been applying a full-court press to pass a $400 million bill aimed at strengthening Massachusetts’ research and innovation economy, but lawmakers have left the governor's plans for a "transformative investment" idling in the seven weeks since Healey proposed it.

Healey’s Discovery, Research and Innovation for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE) bill aims to attract private investment and preserve research jobs. With federal funding drying up for hospitals and higher education institutions, the administration argues the state must step in to maintain its competitive edge.

After filing the legislation (H 4375) on July 31, just as lawmakers were departing Beacon Hill for a weeks-long summer recess, Healey held a press conference at UMass Memorial Health in Worcester this month about the "incredibly important piece of legislation." Last week, she convened the first meeting of her high-powered DRIVE Acceleration Team task force led by the state Federal Funds and Infrastructure Director Quentin Palfrey.

Asked in Worcester about when she wants the legislation back to her desk, Healey said, "As soon as possible. I mean, we need this to happen. We need this to happen now."

"This is a top priority for me," Healey told reporters at the State House last week after a meeting of the task force, whose members constitute a collective who's who of top business, health care and higher education officials including former Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

While Healey has been publicly promoting her plan, the bill has not been scheduled for its legislative debut: a public hearing before the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.

“It is a bill that will be scheduled, I do not have a date yet,” said Rep. Carole Fiola, the House chair of the committee. Fiola noted the bill arrived in August, adding, "We have a schedule of bills right now."

Fiola said the administration reached out to her in mid-September, and they're planning to meet in the coming weeks to discuss the proposal. She emphasized that bills already scheduled for hearings will take precedence.

"I guess there's been quite a bit of publicity trying to be generated about it, but I think we're going to follow the process that we do as a Legislature," she said.

Healey says the DRIVE bill is critically important at a time when the Trump administration is defunding medical research — vital for both health care and the state's economy.

"This isn't just about filling gaps left by what has been devastating cuts at the federal level. This is actually about designing something that will continue to be a catalytic engine for our state," Healey said at the press conference in Worcester. "The federal administration is not helping us right now, because they don't understand the value of science, the value of research, because they've continued to defund medical research right now and do other things that undermine public health, in my view. But in Massachusetts, we're going to move forward."

Healey created the task force with an Aug. 1 executive order and during their first meeting she urged the group to "move this forward and get this both passed, and also, importantly, implemented, operationalized, as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence."

Sen. Barry Finegold, the other chair of the committee who controls the fate of the DRIVE bill, seemed to share some of the governor's urgency.

"We are very much looking forward to the hearing coming up and learning more about the bill, with everything happening on the federal level we need to be on the offensive as a state," he said in a statement to the News Service.

Fiola said she understands research and life sciences are big economic engines for the state, and needs to learn more about the bill.

"Let's take a breath and understand just what the numbers are. Where is the need? What is the best way to approach it? That is how we deliberatively work as a body," she said. "There are a lot of important pressing needs: energy costs, all these federal implications of federal cutbacks. So we're looking at all of it."

The committee is holding a hearing on about a dozen bills Thursday, but Healey's bill is not on the agenda.

Reps. Jeff Roy and Ann-Margaret Ferrante were present at last week's DRIVE Initiative meeting. Healey acknowledged Finegold’s absence but noted his support. She did not mention Fiola in her opening remarks.

Brooke Thomson, president and CEO of Associated Industries of Massachusetts and a member of the DRIVE Initiative, said the bill is drawing attention from the business community.

"I was over at Biogen yesterday, they had a groundbreaking of their new headquarters," she said. "By showing movement on this bill... we’re sending a message."

Thomson added, "With researchers deciding if they’re going to stay here, if they see states like Massachusetts are committing their resources, they might say, 'I’m not going to take that postdoc in another state, or from someone trying to poach me in Europe. Yes, I've lost my fellowship or grant, but I can see Massachusetts is demonstrating they're trying to keep me. So I’ll stay.'"

AIM sent a letter on Sept. 8 to Senate President Karen Spilka, House Speaker Ron Mariano, Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Michael Rodrigues and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Aaron Michlewitz urging passage of the bill.

The letter, signed by Thomson, highlighted the broader economic impact: "Every dollar invested in research yields more than twice that amount in economic benefits. Moreover, the impact of research funding extends well beyond labs and universities — two out of every five jobs supported are in other sectors such as construction, food services, health care, retail, and administrative support."

While DRIVE remains on the sidelines, Beacon Hill has a history of tackling major issues through omnibus bills. Lawmakers are expected to roll out a comprehensive jobs or economic development package later this session, likely in the coming months as election season approaches. It's possible Democrats are eyeing DRIVE as a component of that broader effort — though for now, it remains only one idea among many on the table.

The Legislature this month held its first formal sessions since July and lawmakers have about eight weeks to hold additional formal sessions before their traditional six-week holiday recess begins around Nov. 19.

Written by Sam Drysdale/State House News Service

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