Massachusetts Hearing on DRIVE Act Focuses on $400M Plan to Protect Research Jobs and Innovation

Governor Healey urged the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies to back the DRIVE Act, saying it is "essential to our state's economic future starting now" and describing the bill as a $400 million state response to recent disruptions in federal research funding.

The administration's proposal would dedicate $200 million as bridge funding for Massachusetts public higher‑education institutions and $200 million to a broader research funding pool and a research catalyst fund to attract private and philanthropic matches. The bill would rely on Fair Share revenues and interest on the Commonwealth's stabilization fund rather than a new tax, and it includes a review structure to select and monitor awards.

Why it matters: Massachusetts’ life sciences and R&D ecosystem supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, university programs and clinical trials, speakers told the committee. "Research is economic infrastructure here," Governor Healey said, warning that federal actions had already produced cancellations and furloughs. She cited the University of Massachusetts system as having "100 suspensions or cancellations of federal grants that total $35,000,000," and said UMass Amherst had 34 cancellations totaling about $17,500,000 and that UMass Chan had taken personnel actions including layoffs and furloughs.

What the bill would do: The administration described…