Tech Talkin' Govs, Part VII

The seventh installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alabama, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. The first six installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19, Jan. 26, Feb. 9 and Feb. 23 issues of the Digest.

Alabama
Gov. Robert Bentley, State of the State Address, March 1, 2011
"The Education Budget I present will preserve, protect and bolster areas that should remain a priority for all of Alabama. ... We will protect the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative. ...

"... For the first time, our economic development and job creation strategy will include a plan for how we engage our universities and institutions of higher learning. Once we accomplish this, I believe we will forever change the economic landscape of Alabama."

Florida
Gov. Rick Scott, State of the State Address, March 8, 2011
"An important priority in our 'jobs' budget is to consolidate government's economic development efforts into a single, highly focused agency. Working with our public-private partner, we will have the resources to be effective, and the flexibility to adapt to particularly promising opportunities. This agency will be headquartered two doors down from my office, and its work will never be far from my mind."

Ohio
Gov. John Kasich, State of the State Address, March 8, 2011
" ... [W]e need to take these assets and we have to leverage them. You need to think about what we do with our community colleges, our technical schools and universities, to work in conjunction with businesses so the students and the workers are trained for the jobs that need to be filled today and the jobs that will be there tomorrow."

Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Corbett, Budget Address, March 8, 2011
"The film tax credit, which we are retaining — and never thought to do otherwise — will attract jobs and pump money from outside the state into our economy.

"The Research and Development Tax Credit does the same. So my budget increases it. The computer industries springing up along the banks of the Monongahela, the pharmaceutical firms ringing Philadelphia, the chemical firms, the agricultural firms — all these deserve a break, so they can develop the next generation of medicines, the newest innovation in Apple computers or Microsoft programs. With these innovations they will create the next generation of jobs. And jobs are what it's all about. ...

"... I'm announcing a new governor's task force on privatization. This panel will explore what jobs now performed by government might be better done by the private sector."

Rhode Island
Gov. Lincoln Chafee, Budget Address, March 8, 2011
"We must also make lasting investments in our higher education system. We are fortunate to have three fine public institutions of learning — the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and the Community College of Rhode Island. Each plays an important role in educating our students. Unfortunately, the state's contribution to the Rhode Island higher education system has plummeted in recent years. My budget reverses that trend by proposing an additional $10 million for our higher education system. We must demonstrate our commitment to higher education and to the young people of this state. There is no more important rung on the ladder to success."