Massachusetts has been struggling to grow jobs but Gov. Maura Healey paused to take note Wednesday of significant business expansions that are occurring in the state, while acknowledging affordability woes that people are facing and saying an economic development bill will take on a “lot of things.”
“We have some strengths that other states would kill for and we also have our challenges,” the governor said during a business breakfast in Boston’s Seaport hosted by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
Housing, health care and energy costs are “through the roof,” Healey said.
“I think it’s important for you to know we’re going to continue to be dialed in, as I said, on driving down costs, on energy costs and housing costs and health care costs,” Healey said. “I just ask that we do it together.”
Healey talked up the state’s traditional innovation economy strengths, which have all been under stress from federal policy shifts, and highlighted the jobs tied to private investment occurring in advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and life sciences sectors.
She touted investments from GE Aerospace, veterinary specialty care company Dechra, the Boston-based wearable technology company Whoop, and the grocery chain Big Y, as well as an assortment of AI companies, metal additive company VulcanForms, the medical technology company TransMedics, biotech company Stoke Therapeutics, and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., an RNAi therapeutics company.
P&G Gillette announced Tuesday it is investing almost $1 billion to establish a Grooming Headquarters and Technical Innovation Center in South Boston. The move is expected to support 750 permanent jobs and hundreds more generated by construction of the campus, according to Healey’s office.
The investment represents the company’s confidence in Boston as a “global innovation hub and our intention to anchor this innovation district for years to come,” P&G Gillette CEO Gary Coombe said in a statement.
Healey has said she plans to file an economic development bill “at some point” this session, which has less than five months remaining for lawmakers to get major House and Senate bills before negotiating panels.
“We’re still working on it but I hope to be able to file one soon,” the governor told reporters during a scrum after her speech.
“So there’ll be, hopefully, a lot of things that make a lot of sense to people and will move Massachusetts forward, create jobs, create economic growth,” Healey said.
The Pioneer Institute reported in 2025 that Massachusetts has had the third slowest private sector job growth in the nation since 2020, and lags behind competitor states like Florida, North Carolina and Texas.
“While the state has long been known for its strengths in education, healthcare, and technology, stagnant private sector job creation threatens to undermine these advantages and weaken Massachusetts’ long-term economic resilience,” the institute said in a research report. “Furthermore, a slow-growing private sector can exacerbate income inequality and limit upward mobility.”
The Pioneer Institute recommends lowering taxes, streamlining permitting and aggressive housing production to improve the state’s competitive position.
During a Q&A with chamber CEO Jim Rooney, Healey reiterated her disapproval for proposed ballot questions to establish rent control and drop the state’s income tax from 5% to 4%. Healey noted that when the idea of rent control getting on the ballot came out she got calls from six developers who had lost investment funds.
“Investors are afraid,” she said. “It’s totally at odds and counteractive to what we’re trying to do.”
In her remarks, Healey also said she’s “anxiously waiting” for an energy affordability bill from the Legislature. The House approved its bill last month and senators are assembling their proposal.
“I want to sign it and I want to sign it soon,” the governor said.
Healey said she feels good about the House energy bill (H 5175). Authors of the bill say it is expected to save ratepayers $9 billion over the next decade, but Speaker Ron Mariano says near-term savings may be minimal.
“It contains a lot of what I wanted to see in there and my team continued – worked very closely with them. They’re now working closely with the Senate but we got to get this done,” the governor said.
While officials are not close to a final bill Healey said Wednesday it will “absolutely save people money.”
Healey on Tuesday promoted a March 10 letter she sent to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding a $1,745 refund to every Massachusetts household to make up for President Trump’s tariffs. On Feb. 20, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled President Trump’s sweeping tariffs were illegal.
The governor admitted she doesn’t expect to get the funds. “I am trying to make a point, that’s real money to people that they’ve had to pay over the last year,” Healey said.
Healey told reporters after her address that she is awaiting a response from the Trump administration.
“He owes the American public,” she said.
Healey joined 18 other governors Wednesday in sending a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to reject any efforts to enact Trump’s tariffs.
Republican candidate for governor Brian Shortsleeve knocked Healey’s remarks, pointing to struggles with job growth in Massachusetts, rising cost pressures and state spending levels that he says are too high.
“Maura Healey lecturing businesses on economic competitiveness is like an arsonist lecturing firefighters on fire prevention,” Shortsleeve said in a statement.
A former top MBTA official, Shortsleeve this week said he favors suspending the state gas tax until the price of gas drops to $2.50 per gallon.
Katie Castellani is a reporter for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro Massachusetts. Reach her at kcastellani@statehousenews.com.
