Oregon, North Dakota Budgets Include Funds for TBED

This week, governors in Oregon and North Dakota released their budget proposals for the upcoming budget cycle. Although the budgets differ in both size and scope, education, workforce development, and other programs related to technology-based economic development are set to receive considerable amounts of state funding. 

Oregon

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber’s FY2015-17 budget calls for $18.6 billion in spending over the next biennium. Approximately half of the governor’s budget goes toward education to support the state’s goal of every Oregon student having a diploma and 21^st century skills by 2025. The proposal also projects a budget surplus by 2021-23. Within the budget, notable initiatives related to economic development include:

• $29.3 million for the Oregon InC program, which supports the collaborative research centers Oregon Best, OTRADI, and ONAMI as well as other business accelerators;
• $8 million to support and expand STEM Hubs throughout the state;
• $2.5 million to better integrate communities of color into learning hubs, STEM hubs, and regional achievement collaboratives;
• $500 million for the Community College Support Fund (the highest level since before the Great Recession) and maintained funding levels for public universities;
• $6.4 million to support the PSU Forest Research Laboratory; and,
• $808 million in targeted education investments, ranging from early childcare to universities and community colleges

Read the Governor’s announcement…

North Dakota

In North Dakota, Gov. Jack Dalrymple’s proposed $15.7 billion biennial budget is a 14.3 percent increase over the current biennium and more than triple the state’s $5 billion budget in 2003-05. Despite this, the FY2015-17 proposed budget still predicts a $3.5 billion surplus at the end of the cycle.

One of the major changes proposed in the budget is Gov. Dalrymple’s recommendation that counties receive 60 percent of oil production tax revenue, dropping the state’s share from 75 percent to 40 percent. Despite oil prices dropping by 30 percent since June as a result of global oversupply and demand concerns, the governor expects oil extraction and gross production taxes of $8.32 billion for the 2015-17 biennium, well above the projected $6.76 billion in the current term. By June 2017, Gov. Dalrymple expects the state’s daily oil production to rise 15 percent to about 1.4 million barrels, and the shift in tax revenue sharing toward counties is expected to assist the fast-growing localities in making necessary infrastructure and service improvements. 

Additional highlights of the proposed budget include:

• $8 million for Research North Dakota, which will supply one-to-one matching funds for businesses partnering with research universities for the development and commercialization of a products;
• $6 million for workforce development grants to tribal community colleges;
• $5 million to the North Dakota State College of Science to expand its workforce training program in Fargo and to develop a long-range plan for career and technical education in Cass County;
• $1.5 million in workforce enhancement grants for two-year colleges;
• $1 million for entrepreneurial center vouchers and grants;
• $4.2 million for operating the Unmanned Aerial Airspace Integration Test Site, with $1.2 million to be used as a business incentive match to advance private sector UAS business development;
• $5 million to support the Grand Sky Business Park; and,
• $23 million to advance plant and animal research at North Dakota State University research centers.

Read the Governor’s announcement…