Mass. lawmakers attracted by tech sector's jobs, 'cool stuff'
State Sen. Karen Spilka of Ashland: "We need to keep supporting the sector."
On Beacon Hill, where people compete daily for the bounty that government controls, few special interest groups receive the kind of figurative embrace bestowed Tuesday on the Massachusetts technology sector.
One by one, leaders of the Massachusetts House and Senate and the highest-ranking members of the Baker administration walked to the microphone in a packed Great Hall to proclaim their continued support for a sector that Senate President Stanley Rosenberg said accounts for 215,000 jobs and 20 percent of the state's gross domestic product.
House Speaker Robert DeLeo made a pitch for tech industry growth in all corners of the Massachusetts, which has long featured its strongest economic performance in the region in and around Boston.
DeLeo said the House had agreed to invest taxpayer funds to help state government figure out how the use of data can lead to improvements in transportation, energy and public health - indeed the word “data” is spread throughout the state budget, appearing 111 times in this year's document.
Data and technology, DeLeo said, can lead to streamlined operations, a better understanding of issues and problems facing policymakers, and improved outcomes for those receiving government services.
"The Internet does more than just connect us to one another, as incredible as that is," said DeLeo, D-Winthrop, who downplayed his own technological skills and but said he understands "more and more" the importance of collaborating on policies relating to technology.
Spilka: Sector needs support
Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Karen Spilka, who on Tuesday unveiled the Senate's $38 billion fiscal 2016 budget, has held on to her post as co-chair of the Legislature's Tech Hub Caucus and told industry officials she’s aware of "how much we need to keep supporting the sector."
Remembering when the caucus launched two years ago in the same hall, Spilka said, "I can just say there were not as many folks."
The Ashland Democrat urged lawmakers to check out stations set up by tech vendors to demonstrate their products, noting the day's "Internet of Things" theme and the way technology is connecting people and digitizing functions not just through smart phones but with appliances, cars, and infrastructure.
"That is the purpose of being here, to open up new doors," Spilka said.
Tech Hub Caucus co-chair Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, said technology was at work everywhere, from helping to coordinate emergency response during this winter's snowstorms to enabling military troops to protect themselves and civilians to helping a child with medical problems to safely enjoy a camping trip while his vital signs are monitored.
Ferrante, chair of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business, said DeLeo had "empowered" her "to work with you to do what we need to do to make sure that Massachusetts remains the leader in all things technology and innovation."
Rosenberg recalled discussing with Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council President and CEO Tom Hopcroft the "misalignment" in the labor market where tens of thousands are unemployed while large numbers of good-paying jobs are going unfilled because of a lack of skilled and trained workers.
"Your presence says to all of us in the Legislature that you are an important sector," Rosenberg told industry officials, urging them to "help focus our attention here on policy that will help you grow this extraordinary sector."
Science and technology, Rosenberg said, are driving growth in the state's largest sectors - health care, education, tourism, high technology and financial services. "You are in the middle of all of those industries," said Rosenberg.
The Mass. Technology Leadership Council in 2010 set a goal of creating 100,000 new tech jobs by 2020 and recently reported that 17,650 jobs had been created through 2013, short of its goal of 25,820 for that period. The council identified the availability of talented workers as a significant factor for industry growth, but noted that companies like Amazon, Dassault Systemes, Facebook, Google, IBM, J&J, Microsoft, Paypal and Verizon had opened or expanded research centers and touted a $50 million collaborative R&D matching grant program the state created.
In its "state of technology" report this year, the council reported that 103,610 tech jobs had been posted in Massachusetts during 2014.
Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash told tech sector officials: "It's important that we all together work on advancing just a special part of our economy. I owe all of you a portion of my salary because you're all making my job a bit easier."
Like other speakers, Ash said tech interests were behind some "very cool things."
"Let's do more of the cool stuff and let's forget about yesterday's technology," said Ash, who openly wondered about creating a holographic version of himself that he said would make it easier to attend meetings.
(CORRECTION: The original version of this story misidentified the organization for which Tom Hopcroft is president and CEO.)
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