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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3501 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1380
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
John J. Lawn, Jr. and Marjorie C. Decker
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to healthcare industry recruitment and education for the 21st Century.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:John J. Lawn, Jr.10th Middlesex1/17/2025Mindy Domb3rd Hampshire1/22/2025 1 of 10
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3501 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1380
By Representatives Lawn of Watertown and Decker of Cambridge, a petition (accompanied by
bill, House, No. 1380) of John J. Lawn, Jr. and Mindy Domb for legislation to establish a
healthcare industry recruitment and education advisory council. Health Care Financing.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1220 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act relative to healthcare industry recruitment and education for the 21st Century.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 6A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition,
2is hereby amended by inserting after section 16FF the following section:-
3 Section 16GG. (a) There shall be a healthcare industry recruitment and education
4advisory council within, but not subject to control of, the executive office of health and human
5services. The council shall advise the governor and the general court, and shall assist in
6informing the work of the secretary of education, the secretary of health and human services, the
7secretary of labor and workforce development and the secretary of housing and economic
8development on issues relating to the Healthcare Industry Recruitment and Education Fund,
9hereinafter referred to as the HIRE Fund, pursuant to section 2JJJJJJ of chapter 29. 2 of 10
10 (b) The council shall: (i) confer with participants and parties involved with primary and
11behavioral healthcare planning and programming; (ii) assess how to increase student interest in,
12and preparation for, careers in primary and behavioral healthcare; and (iii) advise on the creation,
13implementation of and updates to initiatives that contain clear goals and objectives to guide
14future efforts of the HIRE Fund, including the creation of benchmarks for improvements.
15 (c) The council shall consist of 23 members. The members of the council shall be
16appointed by the governor and shall serve without compensation. Council members shall be
17persons with demonstrated interest, experience and expertise in primary and behavioral
18healthcare and shall include: the secretary of health and human services, who shall serve as chair
19out the council and the executive committee, or a designee; the commissioner of the department
20of mental health, or a designee; the director of health equity, or a designee; the president of the
21University of Massachusetts Medical School, or a designee; the president of the Massachusetts
22College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, or a designee; the dean of Tufts University’s School of
23Dental Medicine, or a designee; a president of a private university or a designee; a president of a
24public community college or a designee; the president of the Provider’s Council, or a designee; a
25member of the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals; a member of the Massachusetts
26Association of Schools Committees; a member of the Massachusetts Association of Regional
27Schools; a member of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents; a member of
28the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; a member of the Union of
29Minority Neighborhoods; a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council; a member of the
30Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women; a member of the National Association of
31Social Workers; a member of Local 509, S.E.I.U; a member of Local 1199 S.E.I.U.; a mental 3 of 10
32health provider; a representative of persons with disabilities and a representative of the elder
33community
34 (d) The council shall establish an executive committee which shall consist of 9 members
35who shall provide guidance on the recommendations of the council and plan future meetings and
36initiatives. The chair shall determine the membership of the executive committee and shall
37designate subcommittees to focus on particular challenges facing primary and behavioral
38healthcare education and the primary and behavioral healthcare workforce. The council shall
39meet at least bimonthly, and at other times as determined by its rules. The executive committee
40shall meet at such times and places as determined by the chair. The council shall annually submit
41its findings and recommendations, together with drafts of legislation or regulations necessary to
42carry those recommendations into effect no later than March 31 by filing the same with the
43governor and the clerks of the senate and house of representatives.
44 SECTION 2. Chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition,
45is hereby amended by inserting after section 2IIIIII the following section:-
46 Section 2JJJJJJ. (a) There is hereby established and set up on the books of the
47commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Healthcare Industry Recruitment and
48Education Fund, hereinafter referred to as the HIRE Fund, to which shall be credited all revenue
49received from the excise imposed by chapters 63E and 63F; any revenue from appropriations or
50other monies authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the
51fund; any funds from public and private sources such as gifts, grants and donations to further
52community-based prevention activities; any interest earned on such revenues; and any funds
53provided from other sources. The secretary of health and human services, as trustee, shall 4 of 10
54administer the fund, in consultation with the HIRE advisory council established in section 16GG
55of chapter 6A, The secretary shall, without further appropriation, make expenditures from the
56HIRE Fund consistent with this section, provided, that the secretary shall annually award not less
57than 30 per cent of the expenditures from the fund through a statewide competitive grant process
58to eligible institutions of higher education; kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive, and vocational
59education institutions; private for-profit and nonprofit organizations providing education and
60workforce training, 1-stop career centers; local workforce development entities; and any
61partnership or collaboration between eligible applicants and health care providers for the purpose
62of financing projects (1) to construct, improve, renovate, enlarge or equip classroom and clinical
63laboratory facilities to create multi-disciplinary instructional spaces; (2) expand the enrollment
64capacity of health profession certificate, associate, baccalaureate, masters and doctoral degree
65programs; and (3) establish faculty pipeline programs to address shortages in full-time and part-
66time faculty in the health sciences at institutions of higher education. All rules and regulations
67promulgated by the department shall comply with chapter 30A
68 (b) The public purpose of the HIRE Fund shall be to increase the diversity of the primary
69and behavioral healthcare workforce by providing mentorship, academic enrichment, leadership
70development and career exposure to disadvantaged and minority youth. In furtherance of this
71public purpose, and in a manner consistent with the recommendations of the council, the
72secretary of health and human services shall employ the HIRE Fund through grants and other
73disbursements and activities that are calculated to improve educational offerings available in
74low-income schools or schools districts. The grants and other disbursements and activities may
75support, without limitation: (i) the development and use of innovative curricula, courses and
76programs for new teachers and in-service teachers that provide appropriate and culturally 5 of 10
77competent primary and behavioral healthcare content; (ii) develop a primary and behavioral
78healthcare network to create, implement, share and make broadly and publicly available the best
79practices and innovative programs relative to primary and behavioral healthcare and expand
80student interest in primary care and behavioral healthcare studies; (iii) give priority to grants that
81provide effective culturally competent course and curricula in low income schools or school
82districts; and (iv) create summer programs for high school students, with appropriate stipends,
83that would allow interested and motivated students to intern in private or nonprofit healthcare
84and behavioral healthcare entities or in public programs that are in a position to further their
85interest, knowledge and experience in the fields of primary and behavioral healthcare; provided,
86that priority for the summer programs shall be given to students in groups that are presently
87underrepresented in these fields including, but not limited to, persons of color, women, and those
88whose native language is not English.
89 (c) Subject to appropriation from the HIRE Fund, the Massachusetts Academy of
90Sciences shall partner with the University of Massachusetts medical school and behavioral health
91providers in the regions being served to establish a program which shall consist of mobile health
92labs. One mobile lab shall be assigned and designated for each of the following 5 regions:
93metropolitan Boston, western Massachusetts, central Massachusetts, northeastern Massachusetts
94and southeastern Massachusetts. The mission of the Massachusetts Academy of Sciences shall be
95to encourage students to consider careers in primary and behavioral healthcare by participating in
96enhanced primary and behavioral healthcare courses through the use of the mobile labs.
97 (d) The secretary of health and human services shall, in consultation with the council,
98promulgate policies, rules and regulations for the administration and implementation of
99subsections (a) and (b). The secretary shall file any policies, rules and regulations with the joint 6 of 10
100committee on health care financing, the joint committee on public health, the joint committee on
101mental health and substance abuse, the joint committee on education, the joint committee on
102economic development and emerging technologies and the joint committee on labor and
103workforce development for review and comment at least 30 days before the effective date of the
104policies, rules or regulations.
105 (e) The secretary of health and human services may incur expenses and the comptroller
106may certify amounts for payment in anticipation of expected receipts; provided, however, that no
107expenditure shall be made from the fund which shall cause the fund to be deficient at the close of
108a fiscal year. Revenues deposited in the fund that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year shall
109not revert to the general fund and shall be available for expenditure in the following fiscal year.
110 (f) The secretary of health and human services shall file a quarterly report with the house
111and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on health care financing, the
112joint committee on public health, the joint committee on education, the joint committee on
113mental health and substance abuse, the joint committee on economic development and emerging
114technologies and the joint committee on labor and workforce development on the following: (i) a
115list of grant recipients, (ii) the associated grant amounts, (iii) the amounts of non-state funding
116leveraged as a result of the grants, (iv) the purposes of the grants, (v) an annual statement of cash
117inflows and outflows detailing the sources and uses of funds, (vi) a forecast of future payments
118based on current binding obligations, and (vii) a detailed breakdown of the purposes and
119amounts of administrative costs charged to the fund.
120 SECTION 3. Chapter 62C of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
121section 14 the following 2 sections:- 7 of 10
122 Section 14A. Every independent institution of higher education subject to the excise
123imposed pursuant to chapter 63E shall, on or before April fifteenth of each year make a return for
124the preceding taxable year giving such information as the commissioner deems necessary for the
125computation and collection of the excise imposed pursuant to said chapter.
126 Section 14B. Every private school subject to subject to the excise imposed pursuant to
127chapter 63F shall, on or before April fifteenth of each year make a return for the preceding
128taxable year giving such information as the commissioner deems necessary for the computation
129and collection of the excise imposed pursuant to said chapter.
130 SECTION 4. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 63D the
131following chapter:-
132 Chapter 63E. Independent Institution of Higher Education Endowment Excise Tax
133 Section 1. As used in this chapter the following words shall, unless the context clearly
134requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
135 “Commissioner”, the commissioner of revenue.
136 “Endowment fund“, an established fund of cash, securities, or other assets to provide
137income for the maintenance of an independent institution of higher education and that are held
138by the institution, organizations formed and maintained exclusively to further one or more
139exempt purposes of the institution, and organizations that hold endowment funds for the benefit
140of the institution; provided, however, that “endowment fund” shall include assets classified as an
141endowment fund according to the current version of the Accounting Standards Codification of
142the Financial Accounting Standards Board. 8 of 10
143 "Financial Accounting Standards Board" means the board recognized by the American
144Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the United States Securities and Exchange
145Commission to have the authority to set and specify generally accepted accounting principles, or
146any successor or replacement entity.
147 “Independent institution of higher education”, any institution maintained or conducted by
148any person, association, partnership, corporation, or trust, other than institutions within the
149public system of higher education as set forth in section 5 of chapter 15A, chartered, located,
150offering courses or otherwise doing business within the commonwealth and authorized to grant
151degrees pursuant to any general or special law.
152 Section 2. Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, every independent
153institution of higher education in the commonwealth shall annually pay an excise equal to 2 per
154cent of the aggregate fair market value of the assets held in established endowment funds in the
155preceding taxable year.
156 Section 3. Every independent institution of higher education shall pay the excise to the
157commissioner at the time provided for filing the returns required under section 14A of chapter
15862C.
159 Section 4. All sums received from the excise imposed on a independent institution of
160higher education pursuant to this chapter shall be credited to the Healthcare Industry Recruitment
161and Education Fund established pursuant to 2JJJJJJ of chapter 29.
162 Section 5. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for assessing,
163reporting, collecting, remitting and enforcing the excise imposed pursuant to this chapter. 9 of 10
164 SECTION 5. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 63E,
165inserted by section 4 of this act, the following chapter:-
166 Chapter 63F. Private School Endowment Excise Tax
167 Section 1. As used in this chapter the following words shall, unless the context clearly
168requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
169 “Commissioner”, the commissioner of revenue.
170 “Endowment fund“, an established fund of cash, securities, or other assets to provide
171income for the maintenance of private elementary school or private secondary school and that are
172held by the school, organizations formed and maintained exclusively to further one or more
173exempt purposes of the school, and organizations that hold endowment funds for the benefit of
174the school; provided, however, that “endowment fund” shall include assets classified as an
175endowment fund according to the current version of the Accounting Standards Codification of
176the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
177 "Financial Accounting Standards Board" means the board recognized by the American
178Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the United States Securities and Exchange
179Commission to have the authority to set and specify generally accepted accounting principles, or
180any successor or replacement entity.
181 “Private elementary school”, a private school providing instruction to grades kindergarten
182one through five, six, seven, or eight, and, may also include a middle school or other
183intermediate level school providing instruction to grades five through eight or any combination
184thereof. 10 of 10
185 “Private school”, any private elementary school or private secondary school maintained
186or conducted by any person, association, partnership, corporation, or trust and located in the
187Commonwealth pursuant to any general or special law.
188 “Private secondary school” shall a private school providing instruction to grades six
189through twelve, or any combination of those grades, except where a school has designated a
190middle or other intermediate level school providing instruction to grades five through eight, or
191any combination thereof, as an elementary school.
192 Section 2. Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, every private
193school in the commonwealth shall annually pay an excise equal to 1 per cent of the aggregate fair
194market value of the assets held in established endowment funds in the preceding taxable year.
195 Section 3. Every private school shall pay the excise to the commissioner at the time
196provided for filing the returns required under section 14B of chapter 62C.
197 Section 4. All sums received from the excise imposed pursuant to this chapter shall be
198credited to the Healthcare Industry Recruitment and Education Fund established pursuant to
1992JJJJJJ of chapter 29.
200 Section 5. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for assessing,
201reporting, collecting, remitting and enforcing the excise imposed pursuant to this chapter.