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Archived: Baker Pledges Regulatory Review, Action on Health Costs
Posted on November 14, 2014
Massachusetts Governor-Elect Charlie Baker today pledged to create a business climate in which employers and citizens have confidence that they “can get stuff done here.”
Introduced to a standing ovation from more than 550 business leaders at the AIM Executive Forum, Baker said he would initiate a thorough review of state regulations and move aggressively to control the cost of health care in Massachusetts.
He recalled visiting a family-owned manufacturing company in Northboro that elected to expand and create new jobs in Franklin, Tennessee, rather than in Massachusetts. Permitting the expansion would have taken three years in the Bay State, but the mayor of Franklin asked the company owners “Would you like to start digging tomorrow?”
“The big missed opportunity for us is not attracting new business but hanging onto the businesses that have decided they want to grow,” Baker said.
“What I hear is “Boy there a lot of really smart, creative, talented people in Massachusetts, but it sure is a complicated place to get stuff done. That message is, in many cases, the difference between having the next facility built across the street or in Franklin, Tennessee,” Baker said.
He told the audience that he was part of the last major Massachusetts regulatory review, conducted under Governor William Weld, when the code of state regulations turned on its side proved to be as tall as a life-sized cardboard cutout of Celtics forward Kevin McHale.
“I actually think regulatory review is like cleaning your basement ” you should probably do it every 10 years, whether you need it or not,” he quipped.
Baker referenced several times the AIM’s new Blueprint for the Next Century, a long-term plan for economic growth and prosperity the association has developed in observance of its 100th anniversary in 2015. Richard C. Lord, President and Chief Executive Officer of AIM, presented the governor-elect with the first printed copy of the Blueprint as the conclusion of his remarks.
Baker, who won election to the corner office on November 4, drew his largest round of applause when he said his administration would be a partner to small business. He said he will establish a Small-Business Council so he can “talk directly as admin to small business what their needs and concerns are so we can respond aggressively.”