The state representatives and state senator sat with about 60 Quincy business leaders to discuss legislation and programs that affect development in Quincy.

QUINCY – State Rep. Ron Mariano could only express shame for how the T affects businesses in Quincy.

“The MBTA doesn’t have any money,” Mariano said. “The MBTA is a disgrace – an embarrassment to every tax payer in Massachusetts.”

Mariano, State Rep. Bruce Ayers and State Sen. John Keenan spoke with nearly 60 Quincy business owners about state tax systems, property laws and improvements to T infrastructure on Wednesday morning. The forum was hosted by the Quincy Chamber of Commerce in Eastern Nazarene College’s event room.

Ayers said he sees great potential for Quincy as a well-populated city with four T stations and 17 bus routes, but that development will suffer until transportation, accessibility and parking infrastructure is improved.

“The problem we’re experiencing now is having the parking,” Ayers said. “What good is it if we can’t attract a business friendly environment?”

Despite the current state of the T, the three panel members said they thought the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority was progressing.

Maureen Rogers, emcee and president of the chamber, asked the panel about Gov. Charlie Bakers’ proposed transition to a single sales factor tax system, which would tax businesses based on sales rather than net income.

Each member of the panel expressed their reservations in adopting the system, outright.

“We need some transitional revenue,” Keenan said. “Gov. Baker has proposed re-proportioning the film tax credit, and I don’t know if that’s sufficient to back (a single sales factor system.)”

Turning to the audience, a construction company owner said his architects say zoning and land regulations in Massachusetts exceed those of the Environmental Protection Agency’s national standard. He worries the regulations negatively affect business.

Mariano said that more stringent laws in Massachusetts do not equate to an adversarial business environment.

“I don’t think that these restrictions (...) are inhibitors to development,” he said. “I’m not going to stand here and say we should lower our standards just because of federal standards. It’s a case-by-case basis and it’s what works for the state.”

Keenan said the Senate is trying to streamline the permitting process, though.

The panel also discussed their support for employer-paid sick time, the Squantum Point Park ferry proposal and a re-structuring of the Massachusetts healthcare system. Mariano compared the current insurance system to “an open bar at a wedding.”

“Everyone is drinking, and no one is worried about paying.”

All three men are from Quincy, and Ayers said they were all committed to serving their home-town businesses.

Chamber president Rogers said the representatives’ interests and businesses’ interests sometimes conflict, but she believes that Ayers, Mariano and Keenan never forget to weigh Quincy in their decisions.

“We may not always agree, but we always agree to work it out,” she said.

Liam Hofmeister may be reached at lhofmeister@ledger.com.