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STATE LEADERS: BILLION-DOLLAR LIFE SCIENCES BILL REMAINS A WORK IN PROGRESS

By Catherine Williams
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON, FEB. 11, 2008....As his $1 billion life sciences proposal continues to undergo committee review, Gov. Deval Patrick said Monday he has been "continually assured that the bill is on track for passage soon." The bill was outlined last May and filed last September.

At Massachusetts General Hospital, Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi restated their backing of the governor's bill, an outline of which they introduced nine months ago at a Boston biotechnology conference. Beacon Hill leaders said last year that the life sciences bill was on an expedited review schedule. Patrick in recent months has called on the Legislature to act on his agenda more quickly.

Asked if he was concerned about Massachusetts losing out on business while lawmakers weigh their decision on the bill, Patrick said he was concerned about specific companies that have lingered in making investment decisions over worry about the fate of the bill, which features $500 million in bonds and an array of tax incentives.

Then Patrick called Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi from their seats to the podium and with his arms around them, standing between them, he said, "Get a good shot. This is a preview of what you are going to see in a few days time when this bill gets signed into law."

In response to a question about how many days before the bill's passage, DiMasi said, "I never interpret what the governor has to say." DiMasi said he didn't see any "major concerns or drawbacks" and said the bill was "just about complete."

"Everybody is intended on helping this industry," said DiMasi. "There might be some other things in there to help other industries because there are a lot of people who want to see an economic stimulus package here that can benefit as many people as possible and move Massachusetts along with this economy."

Murray said she spoke with her committee chairs last week about the bill. "They are prepared, as soon as the House acts, to move the bill quickly through the Senate," said Murray.

The bill has stalled in the Legislature after being sliced into pieces and distributed to three committees: Reveningg, Bonding, and Economic Development Committees. During his remarks DiMasi said, "I encourage (the governor) to work with the Legislature to make this a tremendous success"

Patrick says boosting the industry will lead to the creation of thousands of life sciences-related jobs. Other states and countries, like California and Singapore, are trying the same tactics. Patrick has cautioned that the bill is an important tool for Massachusetts as it tries to fend off other states hoping to lure jobs away from the Bay State.

"This area is hot," said Patrick.

The top state officials, who postponed today's semi-regular "leadership meeting," gathered at Massachusetts General Hospital to announce applicants may now seek funding under a $12 million life sciences research grant program. The grant program is designed to use state funds to boost study in stem cells, genomics and RNA interference amid flattening federal research funding, said Patrick. The grants award researchers with state funds, which are paired with money from institutions and private businesses.

U.S. Rep. Michel Capuano attended the event and called the grant program a "symbolic step to the research community." Sen. Edward Kennedy was scheduled to attend but did not because he was sick.

DiMasi said he plans to meet with the three House committee chairs today about the bill.

"We are going to have a bill and it's going to be soon," said DiMasi.

In late December, Rep. Daniel Bosley (D-North Adams), co-chairman of the Legislature's Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee, said lawmakers were contemplating the addition of agricultural provisions to the life sciences bill that would assist the expanding Tufts Veterinary School in Grafton and enable small farms to engineer plants for potential pharmaceutical usages.

Lawmakers reviewing the bill have also explored better equipment for vocational education schools, information technology and biomedical technology training and site preparation infrastructure. Bosley, in an interview with the News Service, also described the expansion of research and development in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston as a pressing need, but said he was unsure whether it could be addressed in the life sciences legislation.

Bosley also said in late December that the committee intended to release its version of Patrick's bill by the end of January, but said the panel was "basically building from scratch," using the "outline" provided by Patrick. "It takes a long time," he said, adding, "We're going to come up with a pretty good bill." Committee members are balancing the needs of large and small businesses and public and private higher education institutions, he said.

Bosley said last week that the redrafted bill would at least match Gov. Patrick's 10-year, $1 billion contours.

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