In our newly released summer issue of CommonWealth, I explore the issue of non-compete employment covenants, a multi-syllabic mouthful that can stop a Massachusetts worker from leaving Company A and going to work for A’s chief competitor. Rep. Will Brownsberger (D-Belmont) has filed a bill to ban the covenants; the bill’s proponents say it could spark new economic activity, especially in high tech, while also safeguarding individual liberties.

Now Gregory Bialecki, secretary of housing and economic development (who is profiled by Gabrielle Gurley in the current CW), offers a sign of the Patrick administration’s thinking on this issue. On his blog, Bialecki weighs the pros and cons of the covenants — and of prohibiting them — and says, in effect, that the jury is still out. “We don’t yet see the case to have been sufficiently proven that a change in our existing laws will be a significant improvement to our innovation ecosystem,” he writes. “But we will continue to keep on top of the debate. Stay tuned.”