Oklahoma Legislative Session Ends Kindly for TBED

Nearly $300 Million Tagged for TBED
It took moving into a special session and negotiating a late deal between lawmakers and Gov. Brad Henry last week for the Oklahoma legislature to pass several bills related to the state's budget for fiscal year 2007, which begins this weekend. The final product includes several of the governor's top priorities for the state's portfolio of technology-based economic development initiatives, including $150 million for the new EDGE Research Endowment to support research, $95 million for research infrastructure improvements at the state's universities, and a 75 percent increase for the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST). The budget also cuts the state's top marginal income tax from 6.25 percent to 5.25 percent by 2010.



Three years in the making, EDGE (which stands for Economic Development Generating Excellence) was originally proposed as a $1 billion endowment to support strategically targeted research projects across the state. Legislation passed creates two oversight boards for EDGE. One that will oversee investment decisions is comprised solely of appointees of the governor, state auditor, speaker of the house and president pro tempore of the Senate. The other board will consist of seven appointees of the governor and will be responsible for developing the program's structure.



As the lead state agency for TBED, OCAST will receive an additional $10 million, bringing its FY 2007 budget to nearly $23 million. The additional funds will expand several of OCAST's current initiatives and allow the agency to launch efforts to increase seed capital availability in the state and to support nanotechnology applications.



In other action, House Bill 1619, the Oklahoma Quality Investment Act, allows the state to offer a total of $10 million in incentives to support the retention of manufacturing companies across the state. Manufacturers "at risk" of moving out of state or closing may receive payments for five years to offset up to 10 percent of the cost of capital expenditures to modernize their equipment and facilities.



House Bill 2690 authorizes the establishment of regional economic development authorities located within the boundaries of cities, towns or counties. These regional development authorities have the same powers of current transportation authorities in the planning, financing and constructing of regional economic development projects.



The other large economic development priority in Gov. Henry's 2006 State of the State Address also passed. House Bill 1169 creates and funds a $100 million Economic Opportunity Fund to help "close deals" for business retention, expansion and recruitment.