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H 3197

Workforce readiness

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Terry Alexander and 17 co-sponsors

Massachusetts bill creates a $3,300 tax credit for individual family child care providers, CPI-indexed and carryforwardable up to 3 years, to boost sector finances.

Recommitted to Committee on Education and Public Works
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Bill Summary · H 3197

Bill Summary — H 3197 (House Docket No. 2355)

Title: Workforce readiness / An Act relative to the sustainability of the family child care sector

Note on source material: The legislative text provided for H 3197 primarily contains a Massachusetts proposal establishing a tax credit for family child care providers. The document also includes separate, unrelated South Carolina legislation text concerning statewide workforce-readiness goals and K–12/postsecondary policies. This summary treats the Massachusetts bill as the principal subject (H 3197) and then briefly flags the unrelated South Carolina material included in the file.

Purpose and intent

  • Primary purpose (Massachusetts): To support the financial sustainability of the family child care sector by creating a state tax credit for individual family child care providers.
  • Secondary material (South Carolina): Establish statewide workforce-readiness goals, require high school remediation and FAFSA completion, and make other education–workforce system changes (appears to be a separate bill and not part of the Massachusetts proposal).

Key provisions — Massachusetts (H 3197)

  • New tax-credit section added to Chapter 62 (Mass. General Laws): creates subsection (y) under §6.
  • Credit amount: a refundable or nonrefundable (text does not explicitly state refundable) credit equal to $3,300 per eligible taxpayer, indexed annually to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) beginning with the year the credit applies to the filer.
  • Carryforward: any portion of the credit that exceeds tax due may be carried forward and applied to tax for any 1 or more of the next three succeeding taxable years (carryover period = up to 3 years).
  • Definitions: “Family child care provider” and “Family child care services” adopt the definitions in subsection (a) of G.L. c.15D, §17 (i.e., existing statutory definitions apply).

Who is affected

  • Primary beneficiaries: Individual family child care providers in Massachusetts as defined under the specified statute (Chapter 15D, §17).
  • Fiscal/administrative impact: Potential reduction in state income-tax revenue to provide the credit; administrative responsibility for tax credit processing lies with Department of Revenue under existing tax code procedures. Exact fiscal cost not specified in the bill text.

Procedural / timeline information (as provided)

  • Prefiled: 12/05/2024
  • Introduced / read first time: 01/14/2025
  • Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Robbins (01/28/2025)
  • Referred to Committee on Revenue: 02/27/2025 (note: earlier referrals list Education & Public Works—record contains mixed routing entries)
  • Hearing scheduled/rescheduled: 09/16/2025 (time/location details included)
  • Senate concurred: 02/27/2025 (per action log)
  • Related bill: HD 2355 (listed as replacement)

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Intended to improve provider finances and retention in the family child care workforce by lowering effective tax burden.
  • Fiscal impact depends on number of eligible providers claiming the credit and the size of the CPI adjustments; no revenue estimate or sunset included in the text.
  • Carryforward provision eases benefit timing for low-income providers with little tax liability in the current year.
  • Implementation will require coordination with DOR rules and existing child care provider definitions.

Note on unrelated South Carolina material found in the file

The provided file also contains a separate South Carolina bill (text dated 12/05/2024) establishing:
- A statewide workforce-readiness goal (at least 60% of working-age adults holding a high-quality postsecondary degree or credential by 2032).
- Requirements that high schools offer senior-year remediation courses in literacy/math and allow such coursework to count for elective credit.
- A mandate that high school seniors complete and submit the FAFSA prior to graduation (with exemptions) beginning 2026–2027.
- Additional changes to educator preparation oversight, adult education program transfers, and workforce information resources.

This South Carolina material appears to be a distinct legislative proposal and is not part of the Massachusetts tax-credit language establishing §6(y) in Chapter 62. If you want, I can produce (a) a focused fiscal-note-style estimate of revenue impacts for the Massachusetts credit (using available provider counts), or (b) a full separate summary of the South Carolina workforce-readiness bill.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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