Economic Development

Senator Murray has worked to spur economic development by investing in our core industries while promoting and encouraging new business. Senator Murray is recognized for her efforts to promote tourism by the Massachusetts Lodging Association. During her tenure representing the Plymouth and Barnstable District, Murray has focused on promoting tourism – the state’s 2nd largest industry. She has also advocated for workforce training and education programs and has supported emerging industries such as biotechnology, life sciences, and green energy. Small businesses, another important component of economic development efforts, have also been a focus of Senator Murray, who has worked to promote local businesses through loan programs and initiatives such as the Buy Local program. Senator Murray’s economic development initiatives include:

• Authoring legislation that focuses on attracting new business and expanding existing companies in order to bring more jobs to Massachusetts. The bill streamlines competing public and quasi-public agencies and authorities with the goal of developing a cohesive, business-friendly approach to helping businesses establish and grow in the Commonwealth.
• Working to pass the Commonwealth Investment Plan which invests in the Commonwealth’s core industries, encouraging new businesses and training our workforce.
• Consistently supporting local tourism and businesses through funding in the budget.
• Encouraging communities to look to their local businesses through the Buy Local Program.
• Supporting the film tax credit to encourage movie makers to come to Massachusetts to shoot their films resulting in a boon for local businesses and laborers.
• Securing funding to promote national and international tourism in Massachusetts.
• Instituting the SEED program in Plymouth & Barnstable Counties, which created a $6.6 million revolving loan pool for small businesses. The program helps new and existing businesses grow through loans, from $5,000 to $50,000, with area banks.
• Sitting on the South Coastal Workforce Investment Board, a public-private partnership with the goal of creating a highly skilled workforce in Southeastern Massachusetts. This board has created economic incentives for private parties to purchase, cleanup, and reuse heavily contaminated "brownfield" sites.
• Helping create economic target areas designed to attract and retain businesses, stimulate business growth, and foster job creation.
• Securing funding for welcome centers in the Plymouth and Barnstable District and a new comfort station in Plymouth. In addition, she secured funds to renovate Pilgrim Park and was successful in returning $2 million in international tourism promotion funds to the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism to promote local tourism.