The Massachusetts House is backing a proposed $1.1 billion expansion of the convention center in South Boston.
Representatives voted 130-19 on Wednesday to support a plan that directs proceeds from the state's hotel occupancy tax to cover state bonds that would be issued to pay for the expansion.
Supporters of the bill say the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, which opened in 1997, isn't large enough to attract many large-scale national and international conventions. They say expanding the convention center and adding hotel rooms would generate thousands of new jobs and hundreds of millions in new tax revenues.
The bill now goes to the Senate.
