Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Chair Feeney, Chair Murphy, and Members of the Joint Committee on FInancial Services:
My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I’m the policy director of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide, member-based grassroots advocacy organization fighting for a more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic Commonwealth.
We urge you to give a favorable report to S.736/H.1114: An Act to establish a Massachusetts public bank and H.1264/S.767: An Act promoting responsible investment. These bills help ensure that our commonwealth uses our financial resources to align with our values.
Why a Public Bank (S.736/H.1114)
A Massachusetts public bank would help advance the goal of equitable economic development. Here are a few key ways.
A Massachusetts public bank would strengthen local economies, especially those in underserved communities. A public bank would not be competing with the existing banking system. It fills in the gaps and creates new opportunities for existing banks. Such a bank would help provide cost-effective financing for small businesses and municipalities, land trusts and cooperatives, and projects for climate change adaptation and mitigation–taking on projects that may have more difficult access to early capital due to lack of connections or higher risks.
A public bank would be good for our cities and towns. Cities and towns, constrained in how they can raise money, often lack the resources for necessary long-term investments. A public bank would offer cities and towns an affordable and flexible alternative to the bond market for important local infrastructure projects.
A public bank would be good for our small businesses. Although it can seem like a long time ago already, the COVID-19 pandemic was brutal for our small businesses. A public bank would be able to extend loans to small businesses, helping them to weather such difficult times as well as to grow and expand to better serve the community. The bill would specifically target rural communities and underserved neighborhoods, where entrepreneurs often face significant obstacles to securing seed funding for new businesses, and it can help encourage the flourishing of cooperative businesses and worker-owned coops, business models that exemplify shared prosperity.
A public bank would address long-standing economic inequities. We know that women and communities of color have faced longstanding barriers in securing access to capital. A public bank can help to level the playing field.
A public bank would be good for the environment. A public bank could support initiatives to mitigate the dangers of climate change, and it could help local farms adopt and promote sustainable agricultural practices. As the federal government retrenches its support, increased state resources will become critical.
Responsible Investment (H.1264/S.767)
Our Commonwealth’s investments should align with our values and our priorities. Funding weapons of mass destruction that are causing countless deaths right now and will continue to cause harm into the future.
Funding these weapons is also antithetical to our state’s environmental and climate commitments: few things are as environmentally destructive as war.
By divesting our public dollars from these pernicious investments, we can make a strong statement, redirect our resources to creating the better world we want to see, and — also important from a financial perspective — eliminate any liability or entanglement with war crimes committed through our public dollars.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Cohn
Policy Director
Progressive Massachusetts
