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Dear Friend,
As we look forward to celebrating Independence Day, our nation’s birthday, we should also celebrate the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its great leadership.
I am especially proud to be a resident of the Commonwealth in light of Maura Healey’s election as Governor of Massachusetts. Governor Healy brings a wealth of experience, intelligence, and a comprehensive agenda to the highest office in our state. As a former Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth, I pay close attention to the public policy agendas of each Administration. We are six months into the Healey-Driscoll Administration, and I could not be prouder of the Governor.
I have had the pleasure of knowing the Governor since 2015 when she was elected Attorney General of Massachusetts, and have always been impressed by her courage, leadership, hard work, compassion, and most of all, her commitment to make government work for all people.
Governor Healey has a full plate, with pressing issues ranging from climate change, education, transportation, healthcare, to housing. She and her Cabinet are ready to address them. The Governor has an inspiring vision for Massachusetts as a state where people want to live and work. Improvements to housing, education, and transportation are critical to attract and retain a growing work-force, while centering environmental justice and equity in all areas of improvement.
A key conversation in the Healey-Driscoll Administration is related to competitiveness, and the concern that Massachusetts is losing its competitive edge. There is similar concern in the Legislature, the business community, and among residents that Massachusetts is losing its competitive edge. Last month, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation released findings that showed Suffolk and Middlesex County residents ages 26 to 35 dominate outflow migration, and that these young adults are leaving primarily due to the high cost of living, housing and businesses costs, unreliable public transportation and congested roadways. They are moving primarily to the South, to states like Texas and Florida, and taking their talent with them.
In response, Governor Healey has proposed wide-ranging solutions including building more housing, lowering the cost of education from early Pre-K through Higher Education, expanding child tax credits, and has a pledge to introduce a wage theft bill to ensure workers are paid what they are owed. Governor Healey also split the prior Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development into two offices – the Executive Office of Housing and the Executive Office of Economic Development – to bring a heightened and more targeted focus to each area. The Governor appointed a talented Cabinet to help address the above priorities, one which is more diverse than the former Cabinet, with six women and four persons of color among them.
As a lifelong resident of Massachusetts, former elected official and business owner, I know first-hand how wonderful it is to live, serve, and work in the Commonwealth. Like many others, I take the issue of waning competitiveness very seriously, and applaud the Healey-Driscoll Administration for its comprehensive efforts to address it.
Team Massachusetts is in good hands with this Administration in leadership, and I wish them nothing but continued success.
My best wishes to you and your families for a safe and enjoyable July 4th holiday weekend.
Sincerely,
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Federal Appropriations Updates | |
Jim Gordon, Vice President | |
Ben Goldstein-Smith, Senior Director | |
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In early June, the U.S. House and Senate overwhelmingly approved a deal negotiated by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to avoid defaulting on the Nation’s debt. That deal clears the debt ceiling until after the 2024 election and incentivizes Congress to pass all twelve appropriations bills to fund the government rather than through a Continuing Resolution (CR). In recent years Congress has often gone the CR route, which puts off major funding decisions and keeps spending at existing levels.
Under the bipartisan debt agreement, if any government funding enters 2024 under a CR, that triggers a 1% cut on all federal discretionary spending – defense and non-defense – a negative outcome for Republicans and Democrats. Notably, several years ago, Congress brought back Congressionally Directed Spending, or “earmarks,” allowing Senators and Representatives to allocate funding to specific projects in their state or districts. These earmarks can only be included in regular Appropriations bills and not in a CR.
Despite the bipartisan debt deal, the current political realities will make for a dramatic and chaotic fall and winter as Congress tries to achieve this funding goal under the looming threat of a government shutdown. To do so, the narrow Republican House majority and Democratic Senate majority will need to reconcile their different versions of the spending bills. House Republicans already are advancing appropriations bills that set spending well below the agreed upon levels in the deal, infuriating Democrats and setting up an end of year showdown with the Senate. All of this will be happening with Speaker McCarthy under constant threat of being removed by a group of hardline conservatives, and a looming presidential race that could pit an unpopular President Joe Biden against multiple-indicted former President Donald Trump.
We are holding out hope that the threat of an across-the-board cut will incentivize Congress to pass a compromise package that fully funds the government and includes important Congressionally Directed Spending projects. Last year ONA worked with a number of clients to successfully procure these earmarks. Those successful clients, which include Massport, Revolutionary Spaces, and the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation, are putting the money back into the local and regional economies to help spur growth. We hope to be able to continue that success with clients in Fiscal Year 2024.
Another effort ONA is following closely is the Republican tax package that the House Ways and Means Committee passed along party lines on June 13th. The partisan package includes a host of business-friendly tax breaks mixed with some benefits to individual filers. Its cost, estimated at $240 billion over ten years, is largely paid for by repealing some of the renewable energy tax breaks included in the Democrats’ signature legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, which Republicans pledged to do during the 2022 campaign.
While this type of “messaging” legislation is not uncommon, it also guarantees that the package as currently configured will not become law. In fact, reports are that some Republicans are objecting to the price tag, so it may not even pass the House. It does, however, represent a starting point from which House Republicans will negotiate any end of the year tax deal that sources indicate both parties want. While no surprise that Democrats’ priorities were repealed or disregarded, many bipartisan priorities also were left out of this package. That being the case, there may be an opportunity to negotiate a bipartisan, bicameral deal that could fairly apply tax relief and help drive the economy. ONA will continue to track developments on any tax deal that will be important to many of our clients.
While the battle to fund the government draws most of the attention, and the House Majority focuses on votes to please their base, Congress still needs to try and do its job. September 30th marks the end of Fiscal Year 2023 and with that multi-year authorizations for critical agencies and programs under their jurisdiction will lapse.
For example, bills to reauthorize The Federal Aviation Administration and the US Department of Agriculture (Farm Bill) are in various stages of the legislative process in both the Senate and House. But finishing the different versions in their respective committees, passing each in their respective Chambers, reconciling the differences between House and Senate versions and then voting on a final bill, will take time.
Though the calendar shows plenty of days ahead, Congress is only in session for three weeks in July and then out all of August, not returning until after Labor Day. With only a few weeks of work in September before the 30th, expiring authorizations will likely be extended at current funding levels and with no new programs or improvements to existing programs included. Extending authorizations creates myriad problems for these agencies and programs and for the public that relies on them. And kicking various cans down the road just adds to the growing list of things that Congress – a very divided Congress – needs to accomplish as days fly off the calendar and the year draws to a close. Once again, we will need to buckle up for what’s ahead.
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Massachusetts Legislature Recap | |
Matthew Irish, Vice Chairman | |
Lindsay Toghill, Vice President | |
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Budget Update
In March 2023, eight weeks after taking office, Governor Healey released her first budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2024, totaling $54.8 billion. The proposal outlined three key elements:
1. First, it aimed to provide tax relief to address out-migration.
2. Second, the budget emphasized sustainable investments in areas such as child care, workforce development, and transportation.
3. Finally, Governor Healey emphasized a transparent and forward-looking approach to managing surtax revenues and building monetary reserves.
In April 2023, after a review of the Governor’s proposed budget, the House of Representatives passed its own budget proposal totaling $54.9 billion. The House addressed the estimated $1 billion in revenue from the "Millionaires Tax," approved by voters last year, by allocating funds to education and transportation initiatives. Included in the education allocation is $161 million for the universal school meals program, $100 million for clean energy infrastructure projects in schools, and $50 million to support Massachusetts students pursuing high-demand jobs. Additionally, $250 million was allocated for capital investments in the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), $100 million for highway bridge repairs, and $2 billion for deposit into the Rainy-Day Fund. Other significant priorities of the House include rate increases for childcare providers, $180 million in rental assistance for families, and the implementation of an online lottery system.
The Senate then unveiled its budget proposal in May, totaling $55.9 billion for FY24. The Senate budget primarily focused on new spending in the areas of health and human services, economic development, and education. Also included is a provision to extend in-state tuition to undocumented immigrant students in state colleges and universities. Revenue from the “Millionaires Tax” was also included in the Senate budget, with slightly different allocations for both education and transportation.
Several key differences remain between the branches as the Conference Committee deliberates. The Senate's proposal did not include funding to continue offering free school meals to all K-12 public school students. It also omitted the authorization for an online lottery and funding for rail service between Boston and Western Massachusetts. The branches also disagree on the future use of revenues that could trigger another mandatory tax rebate to residents under the law known as Chapter 62F. Both the House and Senate budgets did include $20 million to support Governor Healey's priority of providing free community college education to adults aged 25 and older without a degree.
The Conference Committee, comprised of three representatives and three senators, is currently considering the two different budgets in preparation for a final compromise budget. Fiscal Year 2024 begins on July 1st, though the Legislature will not have a new budget in place at that time and have already passed a continuation budget to fund state government for one more month while they hash out differences.
Tax Bill Update
The other major piece of legislation currently in Conference Committee is a tax bill, with House and Senate versions passed earlier this year. This tax bill, titled An Act to improve the Commonwealth’s competitiveness, affordability, and equity, is intended to ease the burden on Massachusetts taxpayers who are facing some of the highest living costs in the nation. Legislative leaders state that high taxes are a key reason the state is reportedly becoming less competitive with outmigration of residents. The Senate’s bill is $500M less than the House bill and differs significantly from both the House bill and the Governor’s proposed bill.
There are significant differences between the House and Senate bills. The Senate rejected the inclusion of a short-term capital gains tax cut, which was included in both the House bill and Governor’s bill and would push the rate from 15% to 5%. The Senate also rejected expanded changes to the estate tax – the House has proposed raising the estate tax exemption from $1 million to $2 million – and also rejected a House-approved proposal to tax many businesses based only on their sales within Massachusetts, rather than a combination of sales, payroll, and physical presence.
The Senate also proposed to make a change to the new “Millionaires Tax” on taxpayers with a household income over $1 million – its version of the bill would require a couple who together makes more than $1 million to file a joint state tax return, since filing two separate returns could circumvent the voter-approved tax liability.
Both the House and Senate bills plan for approximately the same amount of relief in the first year, but the House bill would escalate its changes over several years, eventually reaching a $1.1 billion annual impact. The Senate bill would not escalate, remaining at its roughly $590 million starting point.
Differences between the bills are being reconciled in Conference Committee. The ongoing focus on the state’s competitiveness and outmigration of residents remains the narrative among legislative and business leaders as this and other bills are under consideration. There is no required timeline for the Conference Committee to wrap up its work on this bill, and so we continue to monitor their negotiations.
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URGENCY is a Seven Letter Word | |
Drew O'Brien, Partner, Seven Letter | |
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Last week’s tragedy of the submersible Titan was one of the most widely watched news stories in recent times. Throughout it all, however, I never once heard use of the word “crisis.” Perhaps I was watching the wrong news shows or not following the right social media handles? Only over the weekend did the New York Times finally call it what it was; a “crisis.” But even then, they proceeded to make it only a portion of a story that also covered the horrifying migrant boat disaster off the coast of Greece.
In the early hours after the sub went missing, I asked myself, “Where is the company on this?” as we might see in a typical corporate crisis scenario. There were several complicating factors to that. First, the logical representative of the “company” – a small startup in this situation – would be the CEO and Founder, who was unfortunately among the missing at that point, so they lacked a visible and very necessary spokesperson. Second, because the Titan story went immediately into overdrive – from an unknown company to dominating the global news cycle for nearly a week – any attempt to refine the narrative was long gone.
But for circumstances less dramatic than the Titan, even a bit of preparedness can go a long way. Let’s be clear, most organizations, no matter their size, specialty or expertise, and no matter the skills and smarts of their CEO and corporate officers – are never truly prepared for a crisis, the aftermath or the ensuing reputational risk. And while some crises are unavoidable, what can be avoided in the aftermath is poor communication.
Taking steps to mitigate the risk of poor communication can be the result of various efforts – all-encompassing scenario planning, vulnerability assessments, desktop exercises and “crisis audits” which are well worth a company’s investment of time and resources to ensure its brand reputation stays intact. But in the constraints of time and urgency, and whether long-term plans are complete or not – it’s always best to adhere to the “Four Bs”:
1. Be Transparent – facts matter and are what your stakeholders want to hear.
2. Be Authentic – take steps to retain, or regain, your stakeholders’ trust.
3. Be Responsible – accepting responsibility paves the pathway to moving forward.
4. Be Better – show you have learned from this and get back to good business.
All stakeholders – employees, customers, officers, shareholders, to name a few – expect these Four Bs at a minimum in the aftermath of a crisis. They can help companies successfully survive a crisis, and even come back stronger than before.
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O'Neill and Associates New Hires | |
O’Neill and Associates is pleased to welcome Ben Goldstein-Smith as a senior director in our Federal relations division. Prior to joining O'Neill and Associates, Ben served as national political director to former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and ran his leadership political action committee, AMERIPAC. | |
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Our state government relations team proudly welcomes Anna Darrow. Prior to joining O'Neill and Associates, Anna worked for Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA) and served as legislative aide to Massachusetts Representative Hannah Kane. | |
Madeleine McCullom has joined our Federal relations team after completing an internship with O'Neill and Associates. A graduate of American University, Madeleine spent her final semester abroad in London, UK where she interned for Member of Parliament Sarah Olney. | |
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Maura Hogan brings to Seven Letter more than a decade of experience working in both the public and private sectors, most recently as a senior vice president with Direct Impact-Burson, Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) where she specialized in corporate reputation, executive visibility, public affairs and ESG/sustainability, and as an assistant vice president for Global Marketing and Corporate Communications at State Street Corporation. Prior to her time in the private sector, Maura worked at the US Department of State where she served as digital communications advisor to Secretary of State John F. Kerry and chief liaison to the White House Office of Digital Strategy. Additionally, Maura spent time in the Department’s Office of Public-Private Partnerships where she led all communications strategy, elevating cross-sector partnerships at the highest levels, including on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. | |
O’Neill and Associates Community Relations Client BMS Paper & Market was unanimously approved by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) for a new mixed use development at 3390 Washington Street in Jamaica Plain. This new space will include residential, commercial, restaurant and retail space thereby creating about 50 permanent jobs and roughly 135 construction jobs. | |
Photo: Boston Planning & Development Agency | |
Client Advent Technologies Holdings, Inc. hosted Governor Healey at their new global headquarters in Charlestown. Read about her visit to this new fuel cell and hydrogen technology facility here. | |
Photo: State House News Service | |
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Ocean Havens LLC hosted a community celebration in honor of the Charlestown Marina’s designation as “Large Marina of the Year” by Marina Dock Age Magazine. The marina was recognized for its exceptional management, engineering, marketing, community service, and environmental initiatives. Commander Billie Farrell of the U.S.S. Constitution presented the award to Charlestown Marina owners Ann and Chuck Lagasse. There was also a tribute to the late Robert Gillen, the 59th Commander of the U.S.S. Constitution, a Charlestown native.
The event featured the announcement of a new scholarship program at Bunker Hill Community College and the Massachusetts Marine Trade Association to provide funding to a Charlestown resident to study the marine industry through the Marine Technician Program. The Lagasses announced their support with a $2,000 donation that will be an annual gift to the scholarship program.
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Beanfest Executive Director Christina Knowles with Mayoral Proclamation, NELF President Dan Winslow | |
The inaugural Beantown Beanfest was held on Sat. June 24 on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. An estimated 1,000 people attended this first-ever free festival devoted entirely to Boston’s connection to beans. Beantown Beanfest featured 20+ vendors from across the region representing different ethnic cuisines and products that use beans. There was musical entertainment, bean-themed crafts, and bean guessing games.
Beantown Beanfest supports the Equalizer Institute, a social economic justice initiative of New England Legal Foundation (NELF) that will provide free corporate legal aid to entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities to help them start their businesses. The communities that the Equalizer Institute will represent include BIPOC entrepreneurs, new and first-generation Americans, women, veterans, students, LGBTQ+ community members, and others.
Congratulations to our Seven Letter colleagues who worked on this amazing festival: Ann Murphy, Christian Rodriguez, Izabella Nickel and Christine Peng.
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MA Housing and Shelter Alliance | |
On May 11th, the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance held their annual “Home for Good” spring fundraiser. Our Senior Vice President Ben Josephson chairs the board of MHSA and was pleased to present awards to several champions of ending homelessness, including Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee Aaron Michlewitz. | |
Family Pantry of Cape Cod | |
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On June 11th, Tom and Shelly O’Neill co-chaired the 12th annual gala to benefit the Family Pantry of Cape Cod. More than 160 sponsors, ticket holders and donors came together to raise over $400,000 to benefit the Family Pantry. The Family Pantry is the largest food pantry on Cape Cod and serves every community across the entire Cape and Islands providing over 2 million meals to 4,173 families.
Congratulations to this year’s winners: Bank of America received the President’s Award; Cape Cod Fisherman’s Alliance received the Founder’s Award; and MA State Representative Sarah K. Peake received the Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill Award. We are proud to acknowledge this year’s recipients and their many contributions and long-standing support of the Family Pantry.
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Cristo Rey Boston Honors Student Supervisor Nairi Norigian | |
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On May 3rd, we were proud to celebrate our Vice President of Operations Nairi Norigian who was honored with the Mark P. Harty Corporate Work Study Supervisor Award at the 2023 Cristo Rey Boston High School Academic Signing Day. This award is named in honor of a former Board of Trustees member and recognizes the impact of supervisors on student success.
Our senior student Joan Perez presented the award to Nairi and proudly announced that he will attend the University of Massachusetts Boston this fall to study business!
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