Massachusetts House passes $561M policy-heavy catch-all bill; here’s what’s in it from AI to horse race bets

Sam Drysdale and Katie Castellani

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, July 8, 2026…..After disposing of nearly 700 amendments and adding about $136 million to the bottom line, the House passed a $561 million, policy-heavy catch-all economic development bill Wednesday night.

An economic development bill the Legislature generally takes up every other July tends to become a vehicle for representatives’ end-of-session priorities that they haven’t been able to move into another piece of legislation. And representatives had 688 priorities they wanted to add to this session’s bill (H 5562), all of which were withdrawn or handled within five consolidated amendments the House adopted with little floor discussion.

Among the policies embedded within the mega amendments were: authorization for municipal policies granting tenants of multifamily buildings the right to first refusal when their property is up for sale; a gambling expansion to allow simulcast centers to take bets on “historical horse races” on electronic terminals that casinos say are essentially slot machines and via smartphones; a requirement that motion pictures getting state tax credits include a credit and logo stating it was made in Massachusetts; a tax credit for digital game development companies; a pilot program to allow some uses of psychedelic substances; a new commission to assess ways to resolve conflicts that arise from double utility poles; a system for issuing electronic IDs; and a grant program focused on recruiting and retaining master’s level social work students from historically marginalized and low-income communities.

The nearly $136 million in earmarks representatives added included $1 million for businesses in Gillette Stadium’s designated “clean zones” that were created for the FIFA World Cup. FIFA has a “clean zone” policy restricting commercial activity and requiring venues to get rid of branding not related to its sponsors.

Other notable funding representatives added included: $1.5 million for Worcester to redevelop the Worcester Memorial Auditorium into an artificial intelligence innovation center and entertainment facility; and a new $500,000 line item for a grant program for employers to help current or former workers who were authorized under the federal Temporary Protected Status program. That line item comes weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump can roll back TPS status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants – a move Gov. Maura Healey said would be “devastating” for families and the state’s economy.

“This well-rounded economic development package makes significant, targeted investments into major sectors of the Commonwealth’s economy. By advancing this legislation we will be helping our small businesses cope with an ever-changing economic picture, while also making key advances for housing developments and protections across the Commonwealth,” House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz said in a statement following the bill’s passage.

Representatives voted 148-2 to pass the bill with Republican Reps. Kenneth Sweezey and David DeCoste opposed.

The House added a number of housing policies and related bonding into the bill’s borrowing capacity, its only response so far this session to the housing crisis that is constantly referred to as one of the state’s most pressing issues.

The bill includes $120 million for housing-related investments, which Economic Development Committee Chair Carole Fiola said from the floor would support commercial conversion projects, veterans housing and remediation of former state buildings. She said the bill also codifies the state’s site plan review process, allows municipalities to adopt commercial conversion ordinances to turn commercial properties into housing and mixed-use developments, and establishes a framework allowing multifamily housing by right on qualifying land owned by religious institutions.

The legislation also includes a new framework governing micromobility devices, establishing safety standards and operating rules for personal transportation devices such as motorized bicycles.

House Speaker Ron Mariano said the measure had evolved into a vehicle for addressing a range of outstanding policy issues that did not warrant standalone sessions before the Legislature’s formal business wraps up.

“We reach a point where there’s a lot of little things going on that don’t require a full formal session, but need to be straightened out,” Mariano said.

Presenting the bill on the House floor, Fiola framed the legislation as a continuation of the state’s 2024 economic development strategy.

“This bill isn’t another leap of faith, it’s a reinvestment in strategies we already know that work, informed by results that we already see,” she said.

Fiola argued that changing national and global economic conditions required Massachusetts to continue investing in key industries.

“The world has changed greatly since 2024. Federal research funding is uncertain and global competition for advanced industries such as AI, quantum defense and robotics has only intensified. States that stand still get passed by. This bill will make sure that we don’t stand still,” the Fall River Democrat said.

The bill authorizes $561 million in capital spending across nine areas that Fiola identified as priorities: applied artificial intelligence and quantum computing, defense, robotics, agricultural technology, the creative economy, downtown revitalization, local economic development projects, housing and international business attraction.

Fiola highlighted several initiatives aimed at protecting the state’s innovation economy amid uncertainty surrounding federal funding. The bill establishes a $200 million bridge funding reserve for public and private nonprofit colleges and universities facing disruptions in federal research support, including $175 million for public institutions and $25 million for private nonprofit institutions.

Sam Drysdale and Katie Castellani are reporters for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro Massachusetts. Reach them at sdrysdale@statehousenews.com and kcastellani@statehousenews.com.