Tech Talkin' Govs: Part IV

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs' series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Illinois, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Rhode Island. The first three installments are available in the Jan. 11, Jan. 18 and Jan. 25 editions of the Digest. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, State of the State Address, Feb. 1, 2012 "Today, I'm announcing a $2.3 million dollar investment in '1871,' a new technology center at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago to foster and launch digital start-ups. "Today, I'm also announcing a $6 million dollar statewide competition to build ultra-high speed broadband in neighborhoods across Illinois. "Through this challenge, we want our neighborhoods to become Gigabit communities with Internet connections more than 100 times faster than today! Our goal is to build smart communities that will foster the job engines of the future." New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, State of the State Address, Jan. 31, 2012 "There are tax reductions that can spur job growth here in New Hampshire. Innovative companies create jobs and lay the foundation for a stronger future for our state. Five years ago, we put in place a research-and-development tax credit to attract companies to create the products of the future here in New Hampshire. "This year, I am proposing we double the research-and-development tax credit. This is a tax credit that works to help create jobs; the same cannot be said of the cut in the tobacco tax. "The cut in the tobacco tax was nonsensical. That money would have been better spent on our community college and university systems, for example. We should roll it back, and use the revenue to invest in our economic future." Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, State of the State Address, Jan. 31, 2012 "I believe there is tremendous opportunity for our state to grow our economy in the Knowledge District, with the 'meds and eds' leading the way. We must have the wisdom and foresight to make good decisions regarding our hospitals and our educational institutions. ... "... [W]e must be a state that provides access to capital and encourages innovation. I have heard from many Rhode Islanders who have exciting and promising ideas. But they are unable to obtain the needed resources to invest in new technologies, expand their operations, or start a new company. This is an area where we need to work together with experts and develop a plan for Rhode Island to strategically invest our state and private assets in the types of industries that will bring good jobs to our state." Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, State of the State Address, Jan. 30, 2012 "Access is critical to a successful education program. Let me speak plainly, for the last several years we have not been funding higher education's capital plans to the degrees necessary to meet growing student demand. We need more space to train students in science, technology, engineering, and math — critical subjects in which we must provide more trained graduates. "This budget will finally provide the state's funding for the long-overdue science building at MTSU, the science laboratory facilities at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, a new patient diagnostic center at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, as well as the planning money for new buildings at Nashville State Community College and Northeast State Community College, the University of Memphis, and the University of Tennessee — Chattanooga."