Regional planners and municipal economic-development leaders told the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business that Massachusetts should create a steady revenue stream for downtowns and ease administrative burdens on small business improvement districts.

Witnesses asked the committee to report S.173 favorably and supported a related technical bill (H.299 / S.174) to improve the management and sustainability of BIDs and similar district entities.

Anna Sengupta, director of arts and culture at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), urged the committee to approve S.173, saying it would create “a dedicated revenue source to ensure that cities and towns can reinvest in their downtowns and other key commercial areas for years to come.” Sengupta said the creative sector lost an estimated $500 million in revenue and 30,000 jobs during the pandemic and that a permanent revenue stream would help blunt future cuts.

Andre Leroux, representing MassInc’s Gateway Cities Innovation Institute network, described the fund design and put a dollar figure on the proposal. Leroux said S.173 would dedicate 0.75% of the Commonwealth’s collected sales tax to a downtown vitality fund, and that MassInc’s analysis using FY24 figures estimated the policy would generate about $51,600,000 annually to support district start-up grants, multiyear sustaining grants for district management entities, funding for TDI (Transformative Development Initiative) and competitive grants for infrastructure and public-space improvements.

Leroux also supported a short technical change in H.299/S.174 to allow BIDs to renew at intervals up to 10 years (instead of the current five-year cycle) and to align audit requirements with nonprofit reporting thresholds so very small BIDs would not bear expensive annual audits.

Committee members asked for the number of existing BIDs and for details on non‑revenue changes such as advisory boards and program coordination; witnesses offered to provide additional written information. No committee vote occurred at the hearing.