The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Joint Committee on municipalities and regional government State House, Boston, MA 02133-1054

Senator Linda Dorcena Forry 1st Suffolk District

For Immediate Release: October 4, 2013

Contact: Sean Pierce - (857) 891-4054

Senator Forry Works to Include Job Access in 2nd Phase of Convention Center

On Wednesday, October 2, 2013, State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry and State Representative Nick Collins co-filed legislation that would authorize a 1.3 million square foot expansion of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) allowing the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) to secure larger events and host multiple concurrent events. This expansion would allow Boston, and Massachusetts as a whole, to increase their share of the $263 billion meeting and convention industry in the United States. The BCEC expansion is expected to create 4,700 construction jobs and 2,100 permanent jobs while generating $716 million in annual economic impact and $41 million in tax benefits for Boston and the Commonwealth. One of the critical pieces Senator Forry focused on was job access for the second phase of the BCEC expansion project. She was happy to gain the support of MCCA Executive Director James E. Rooney and her colleague Representative Collins in showing the importance of diversity. I am proud to co-sponsor this legislation, not only because it offers an innovative way to fund this project without any new taxes or fees, but because the MCCA has shown a legitimate commitment to ensuring that this project will reflect the diversity of the City of Boston, said Senator Forry. With the filing of this important legislation, it is our hope to build on and grow our success by increasing the participation of women and people of color in the second phase of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, the gateway to the South Boston waterfront, said Rep. Collins.

When we started construction on the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, the hiring of local workers and women- and minority-owned businesses was a priority and, in the end, a huge success, said Rooney. With the successful passage of this legislation to expand the BCEC, and the construction and operation of the related hotels, this allows us the opportunity to redouble our efforts and be transparent about the results. The workforce on a project of this caliber needs to reflect the communities it serves. Senator Forry included language to provide job access opportunities for Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) and Women Business Enterprises (WBE), by requiring the MCCA to implement the supplier and workforce diversity program. This will encourage participation on the part of MBEs and WBEs in all phases of the management and oversight, design, and construction of the expansion. In order to ensure transparency, this legislation requires the MCCA to provide quarterly reports on various statistics including Boston residents working on the project, number of employees broken down by race, ethnicity, and gender just to name a few. Each report will be posted on the MCCAs website. The legislation also establishes a committee to monitor and review compliance with job access opportunities in the supplier and workforce diversity program. The passage of this bill will set a high standard for job access and workforce diversity on state projects going forward a standard that the Commonwealth can be proud of, said Rep. Collins. We look forward to working with our colleagues in government to ensure this bill is passed and signed into law, said Sen. Forry.

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