New Governors Make TBED and Economic Development a Priority

Last Tuesday's elections resulted in the selection of 11 new governors across the country, and could lead to important changes for TBED communities in many states. Six races resulted in a change of party affiliation in the top state position, including races in Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Ohio. All six governorships changed from Republican to Democratic administrations. This is the first time in 12 years that a majority of governors have been Democrats.

 

Incumbents won gubernatorial races in 25 states, and 14 governors did not face re-election this year.

 

But what changes are in store for the states with new leadership? Several of the governors-elect made economic development and TBED a part of their platforms throughout their candidacy. Here is a sampling of policies and programs announced by some of the governors-elect on their official websites as collected by SSTI:

 

Arkansas

Attorney General Mike Beebe (D) has proposed developing a series of regional community partnerships across the state to promote economic growth. Existing community partnerships in the state, the governor-elect says, have been successful in recruiting new employers by marketing regional assets and collaborating on infrastructure improvements. The incoming administration will favor communities that have demonstrated a commitment to regionalism when considering discretionary incentives and infrastructure funding. Beebe has also pledged to help find private partners to collaborate on biotech research conducted within the Arkansas University system.

 

Colorado

Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter (D) has a similar plan to implement regional development strategies in Colorado. His administration will establish State and Regional Economic Development Offices to conduct county research and analysis, recruit new businesses, and develop recruitment and information packages for new and existing businesses. Ritter has also released his New Energy Economy plan, which calls for the promotion of wind, solar, and biofuel industries to benefit rural areas, and for the creation of the Colorado Clean Energy Fund to provide seed money for alternative energy companies.

 

Iowa

Clean energy also will be a priority in Iowa, where Secretary of State Chet Culver (D) has proposed a $100 million Iowa Power Fund to support businesses attempting to enter the clean energy industry. Culver also favors a small public venture fund ($20 million to $25 million annually) to provide venture capital in underserved areas of the state. Entrepreneurial support will be available through a new Office of Small Business Development and Entrepreneurship, which will serve as a one-stop shop for training, advice and advocacy. Culver supports a repeal of the state's ban on stem cell research and will provide at least $10 million in funding for the Iowa Center for Regenerative Medicine in Iowa City to leverage life science growth and investment.

 

Florida

Attorney General Charlie Crist (R) has promised to develop the state's science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs as engines of high-tech growth. His administration will offer additional research funding to universities that focus or increase their focus on STEM education and research. Crist also plans to encourage public-private partnerships to implement the Sure Futures program, which would match businesses with students seeking advanced STEM degrees and offer employers a tax credit for hiring those graduates to work in the state.

 

Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, attorney and businessman Deval Patrick (D) plans to focus the state's investment in high-tech businesses on areas that have not benefited from recent growth along Route 128. State funds for start-up businesses will offer more favorable terms of repayment based on the number of jobs created by the new firm. New businesses that create new jobs in distressed areas of the state will owe substantially less. Patrick's administration also will issue bonds to invest in the expansion and development of facilities and new faculty at public universities to promote stem cell research and biotech commercialization.

 

New York

Applied research in New York may receive a boost from Attorney General Eliot Spitzers (D) planned New York State Innovation Fund. This program, if funded by a voter-approve bond act, would support research with a direct commercial application. The fund would support research with direct commercial applications, which the governor-elect says has been ignored by the state's Centers of Excellence.