Building on that work, Wu pledged to add 1,000 new biotech and life sciences workers by 2025 to meet workforce demands and uphold the region’s prominence in the industry. Funded in part through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, the Boston Sciences Workforce Initiative will offer grants for training programs that connect companies with city residents seeking “good-paying” life sciences jobs and career paths.

In February, 2024, Wu announced the recipients of the funding, prioritizing training programs that: secure internships and hiring commitments from life sciences companies; focus on specific in-demand industry positions; and support residents without four-year degrees, particularly workers of color, women, and immigrants, who are currently underrepresented in the field. Additionally, the grants will establish an intermediary organization to provide additional support to workers, training providers, and employers, with the aim of making inclusive employment pathways a permanent fixture in the regional industry. The funding will also address common challenges that workers often face when entering the industry, such as childcare and transportation costs.

“Boston is the home for big ideas that can change the world,” said Wu. “As Mayor, my goal is to help ensure that Boston remains the best place in the world to start and grow a life sciences company—to create life-saving innovations and great jobs for our residents. Through our Life Sciences Workforce Initiative, we’re partnering with industry, training providers, and higher education to connect employers with the talented workforce that lives in our neighborhoods.”

Shelby County, TN Mayor Lee Harris’s “Work to Break the Cycle” is a job website featuring updated Shelby County Government positions for individuals with arrest or conviction records. It complements the 2020 Ban the Box Ordinance, which removed questions about criminal history from job applications. This initiative has facilitated numerous opportunities for previously incarcerated individuals to join the county government workforce, with over 100 employment offers extended. By offering tailored jobs, Harris aims to reduce recidivism rates, as employment cuts reoffending chances by 20%. This dedicated job site enhances application confidence, promotes local economic engagement, and reduces incarceration expenses, aligning with the goal of reintegrating justice-impacted individuals into the community.

Impact:

Harris believes each hire is a marker of success. Since launching in May 2023, the program has resulted in employment offers to over 100 individuals so far, with plans to partner with the local Chamber of Commerce to provide more job opportunities. These jobs not only change their situation, but it has a ripple impact for their families and the Shelby County Community as a whole.

Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando authored the Housing Opportunity, Mobility, and Equity (HOME) Act that would protect tenants through rent stabilization, provide predictable housing costs, and help them stay in their homes over time, just like homeowners. The County Council approved renter regulations that balance the need to protect tenants with providing landlords with economic tools to maintain and build housing. Montgomery County is the first county in Maryland to establish permanent rent stabilization at a maximum cap of 6%.

The compromise bill that passed, Rent Stabilization, prevents rent gouging, reduces displacement, and creates cost predictability for tenants and landlords by:

 – Setting an annual rental increase allowance of CPI-U plus three percent, capped at a maximum of six percent;

 – Establish guidelines for fees and fee increases for regulated rental units;

 – Establishing provisions for the landlord to increase the rent above the cap and apply a surcharge for renovations; and

 – Defining a process for landlords to bank unused rental increase allowances.

Impact:

The bill is already having an impact, sending a clear message that the county cares for renters and believes they should have sustainable housing with predictable costs. 

As the bill goes into effect, the county will monitor its implementation to ensure that it balances the need to protect tenants with providing landlords with economic tools to maintain and build housing. A protection or right is also only as good as it is known by the public, particularly those most impacted, and the next steps will include raising awareness among tenants and landlords about their rights and responsibilities.

Maryland Delegate Adrian Boafo introduced a “Ban the Box” policy for rental applications to prohibit discrimination against those with a criminal history from applying. Criminal history inquiries will be limited to the past three years, enabling individuals with older criminal histories to have a fair chance at securing housing, with an exception for individuals on the sex offender registry. Additionally, this bill requires housing providers to provide a physical disclosure stating the reasons for denying an applicant, fostering a more open and accountable housing system. Further, this bill mandates that all housing providers restrict their application fees to cover only the actual cost of the screening process.

Impact

Housing continues to be one of the most significant barriers for those transitioning out of prison. This bill will help send a message by helping returning citizens access essential housing.

Little Rock State Senator Clarke Tucker’s bill to offer free school meals for low-income students was signed into law. The USDA provides income eligibility guidelines for public school students throughout the United States to qualify for either free or reduced-price school meals. Tucker’s Act 656 eliminates the cost of all school meals for students who come from families that qualify for reduced-priced meals. This will have a huge impact on families who rely on school meals for their kids to eat and who need their dollars to stretch a little further.

The law creates a tiered system of funding. The Arkansas Department of Education will utilize any available federal funds to pay for these meals, and then the state will cover any remaining costs (including dedicated funding from medical marijuana tax revenue).

Impact:

Students who qualify for reduced-priced meals come from families with limited means and are still required to make some payment to receive their school meals. The price of those families’ school meals, even when reduced, can add up and even create debt. As part of the legislation, the state auditing entity will audit the Arkansas Department of Education Child Nutrition Unit and provide a report to the Senate and House Committees on Education every year to monitor the program, ensure that every eligible child in Arkansas is receiving these meals, and help the legislature budget appropriately.

Florida Representative Christine Hunschofsky’s Sea Level Rise Impact Projection legislation requires that public entities using state funding conduct sea level rise studies for any construction projects in areas threatened by sea level rise. This policy aims to give communities a better understanding of how flooding affects them and will empower them to take appropriate steps to prepare. The policy will lead to smart investments, saving communities money down the line and protecting residents and communities for future generations.

Impact:

Hunschofsky hopes this program will help raise awareness of the threat of sea level rise in vulnerable communities prone to flooding and sea level rise. Ultimately, the program aims to incentivize more investments in infrastructure planning and to build more resilient communities to flooding and sea level rise.

The City of Rochester’s Mayor Kim Norton has taken steps to ensure the authentic and meaningful use of community engagement to drive decision-making at the policy, program, and community design levels. Involving people directly impacted by decisions from the start and utilizing their experiences, ideas, and input alongside the expertise of professionals helps optimize the city’s development. 

Rochester used the co-design methodology on issues such as housing, workforce, sustainability, and street design. The program is bringing together community members and industry professionals to address cultural, economic, and other barriers to create an equitable, just, and sustainable city. Norton aims to ensure the city takes action with people and not to them as the city grows and changes in size and demographics.

Impact:

The program has resulted in more diverse representation on committees and community boards. Including: local artists working on street design in the downtown redevelopment effort, secured a $1 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies focused on Equity in the Built Environment, which helped to diversify the city’s construction and trades, and in their sustainability and resiliency planning. Additionally, the city hopes to see growing diversity at their community events and are pleased to see Mayor Norton invited to many cultural events.

The Guaranteed Paid Family Leave plan, sponsored by Maine Representative Kristen Cloutier, will provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year to all eligible employees in the private and public sector. The plan permits employees to take leave to care for any individual with whom they have a significant personal bond that is or is like a family relationship regardless of biological or legal relationship. Employees can take paid leave immediately after starting employment.

Paid family and medical leave will help Maine workers, particularly working women, meet their personal and family health care needs, while also fulfilling work responsibilities. To pay for this program while keeping track of who gets helped, the state will impose a 1% contribution rate, split evenly between the employer and employee.

Impact:

The state of Maine will keep track of how the program is affecting businesses and whether they are adapting well to implementation of the program over time. Additionally, Cloutier built in strong accountability provisions to monitor the sustainability of the fund and allows for the contribution rates to be adjusted as necessary.

Maryland State Delegate Jazz Lewis pushed for a tax deduction to taxpayers on any union dues that they might pay. This was a deduction that was provided before the Trump administration’s passed tax reform bill stripped this reduction out of the code.

Impact:

 Success will be measured in the amount of money that this puts back into the pockets of working families. The State of Maryland will see the results in the next tax year as they start to look at the number of people that take advantage of this deduction and the amount union members deduct.