SSTI Digest

With the start of the new year, most governors deliver State of the State addresses or Budget addresses laying out their priorities for the coming year. With revenues for many states relatively consistent with forecasters expectations, lawmakers, with a few exceptions, continue to maintain cautious or constrained views of their funding priorities and proposed initiatives. As a result, many governors in SSTI’s analysis of addresses delivered so far this season, are speaking more about previously implemented programs and their continued successes rather than rolling out many new programs. However, new priorities for growing stronger innovation economies have not been completely overlooked. The following highlights have been selected excerpted from eight of the 20 State of the States or Budget addresses given between Dec. 2024 and Jan. 16, 2025, by governors from Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.   Additional addresses and states will be covered in future Digest issues. On Jan. 14, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave her second State of the State address, proposing a plan to improve access and…

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced 11 additional states whose SSBCI plans have been approved: Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, and Utah. This is in addition to the 20 states that have been approved this year: California, Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, West Virginia, Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Colorado, Montana, New York, North Carolina and Oregon. Funds aim to make capital more accessible for underserved communities and increase economic growth and opportunity. Alaska has been approved to receive $59.9 million across four state programs. The largest program of the four is the Alaska Loan Guarantee Program, which will receive $32 million and aims to provide funding to small businesses that have decreased revenue, according to Alaska’s News Source. In addition to the loan guarantee program, $15.9 million will be allocated toward a loan participation program, $10 million will go towards an equity and venture capital program and $2 million will be allocated to a collateral fund program. Idaho has been approved for…

The last of the governors have delivered their State of the State addresses. With 36 gubernatorial elections this fall, many governors appeared to be more conservative in their addresses this year, speaking more about past accomplishments rather than rolling out new programs. This week features comments from California, Louisiana, Nevada and Ohio’s governors as their addresses related to the innovation economy. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (March 8) Gov. Gavin Newsom talked about transformation in the state’s public education system, including free community college. “Infrastructure, research and development, investing in our conveyor belt for talent, the finest system of higher education anywhere in the world: our CSUs, UCs and community colleges. And ensuring society provides a hand up when people need help, maintaining, maintaining our pro-immigrant policies and welcoming refugees from around the world.” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (March 14) Noting that the state has “hundreds of millions in surplus, even more in current year excess, and billions in federal funding through the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Investment…

Across the country, the governors have begun delivering their State of the State addresses, an annual ritual where they have the opportunity to review where the state’s economy stands and preview their plans for the coming year. This year’s remarks reflect the dire conditions most states are experiencing with the pandemic, economic fallout, racial strife and national political upheaval. Despite the heavy focus on states’ efforts to respond to the pandemic, governors have struck a hopeful note and are focusing on recovery. Some governors have noted that the fallout in their state was not as severe as they originally anticipated and there are resources for new initiatives. Some, like Arizona and Virginia are considering gaming revenue to boost their budgets, while legalization of marijuana is being pursued in Connecticut, Kentucky (medical marijuana) and Virginia. Each year, SSTI reviews each of the governors’ addresses for news about initiatives affecting the innovation economy in our Tech Talkin’ Govs series, and this week we bring you the first round of those addresses looking at Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, New…

A report on employment trends from hiring firm Robert Half found that 2020 presents greater challenges for employers looking to expand their workforce as the country’s labor market is near full employment and job openings remain at high levels. When looking specifically at technology hiring, the report reveals that in a survey of IT hiring decision makers, 86 percent reported challenges finding skilled workers. Such conditions have many states seeking new ways to address the skills gap and develop their workforce to attract or keep business. Several recent efforts are detailed below. Last month, Pennsylvania’s Keystone Economic Development and Workforce Command Center, a public-private partnership created last year by the governor to study workforce development, presented its first report to the Wolf administration. It found five major barriers to employment and a list of 42 recommendations to address those barriers. Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget proposes investing $14 million to support the recommendations, building on a $124 million investment to fully fund PAsmart, career and technical centers, industry partnerships, and apprenticeships to provide job skills training.…

Governors’ focus on initiatives particular to their state in this latest round of state of the state addresses. As SSTI continues to review the speeches for new innovation proposals, we found states continuing to focus on education with more attention on teacher salaries and efforts extending all the way down to pre-K with a recognition that the future workforce is influenced by many factors. Florida is also hoping to grow its aerospace and manufacturing sectors, while Kentucky’s new governor is looking to ag tech and sports betting as new revenue sources. Occupational licensing reform is also a recurring theme in many states this year, along with clean energy and renewable fuels. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis attributed the in-migration of residents from other states to the lack of a state income tax in Florida, and said he will continue that policy with the expectation that further growth will ensue. “We have the good fortune to be attracting investment and business activity and have good potential for further growth in aerospace, financial services, health care and manufacturing.” “We have a good [occupational licensing] reform bill pending before…

Research universities and their partnerships with industry, including an institution’s research capacity, are important elements to building a state’s economy as well as the national economy and talent pipeline and workforce. Following on our review of higher education and commercialization programs, as well as our ongoing review of state activities in 2019 (see our stories on free tuition offerings, climate change and clean energy), this week we report on new university-industry partnerships, including research capacity activities, launched in 2019. The following programs represent some of those efforts. Alabama Earlier this month, the University of Alabama (UA) announced the launch of its Tide Research Partnership Program. The program is designed to strengthen UA’s research and development partnerships with industry, as well as encourage businesses and companies to sponsor research opportunities at UA, while also providing opportunities for students to work on real world solutions to current challenges. The program is managed by the UA Office for Research and Economic Development, and sets costs upfront for exclusive rights to possible…

This week, we see broadband investment in Indiana; education initiatives that begin with pre-K and extend beyond high school in a number of states; lifelong learning approaches; apprenticeships; climate change and green energy initiatives in Nevada and Washington; and more on governors’ agendas. As governors across the country continue to deliver their state of the state addresses to their legislatures and constituents, SSTI monitors the speeches for news of innovation related initiatives. This week we bring you news of innovation funding from governors in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, Rhode Island and Washington. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb gave his address Jan. 15 before the General Assembly, highlighting among other things the state’s growing tech ecosystem. His plan is to take the state to “the next level”: “But to stay ahead of our competition and keep breaking those jobs records, we must keep sharpening our economic development tools to give us the flexibility to attract more capital investment and more people to locate here. …” “… But all students should be doing their…

The ability of states to deliver the services promised to its residents relies on their fiscal soundness. With most states beginning their fiscal year in July, SSTI has reviewed the current fiscal standing for each state and here presents a snapshot of our findings. Most states ended their fiscal year with a surplus and continue to recover from the Great Recession, with a growing economy and job gains. However, they face continuing demands on their budgets, with expanded Medicaid payments and the growing opioid crisis confronting nearly every state. Such decisions affect the state’s ability to fund innovation efforts, from the amount of support available for higher education and STEM programs, to funding for entrepreneurship, and forging public private partnerships to strengthen innovation programming that the private sector cannot fully support. Our analysis found that some states that rely on the energy sector to fund their spending priorities continue to struggle, while others are already factoring in anticipated revenues as a result of new Supreme Court rulings involving gaming and online sales tax collections.

SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs feature returns as governors across the country roll out their state of the state addresses. We review each speech for comments relevant to the innovation economy, and bring you their words directly from their addresses. In this first installment, we present excerpts from governors in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, New York and Vermont. With the seat up for election in 36 states this fall, many governors are delivering what may be their last state of the state address (see last week’s story on the definite turnover in 17 states and another 19 eligible for reelection). Some governors are more specific in their addresses regarding the innovation economy, such as Idaho where its governor is seeking additional money for college and career advising, an additional $5 million for the Opportunity Scholarship program, and a new position to coordinate the work of all its higher education institutions. Iowa’s governor is calling on the legislature to pass the Future Ready Iowa Act and proposes a new scholarship for Iowans who decide to pursue up to a two-year degree in a high-demand field as well as more money for apprenticeships. Taxes are taking a large part of the discussion for many governors. For instance, the Florida governor is hoping for a constitutional amendment to make it more difficult for future legislators to raise taxes, while in New York, the governor says the state will challenge the federal tax code.

SSTI continues its reporting on actions taken by state legislatures to invest in economic growth through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. This week, we look at the budgets passed and signed by governors in Iowa, New York and North Dakota, finding mostly level and some increased funding for innovation programs in Iowa and New York – including free tuition at in-state colleges for qualifying residents – while North Dakota is looking at decreased funding for programs. Iowa Iowa recently passed a budget for FY 2018. Within the Economic Development Authority, the High Quality Jobs Fund, which provides funding for innovation programs, maintained funding of $15.9 million. However, a decrease in the authority’s available reserves leaves the innovation funding expected to decrease by two-thirds to $5.5 million in FY 2018. Two new programs, STEM scholarships and a mentoring partnership, receive $1 million and $93,000 in new funding, respectively. At the Board of Regents, the Agricultural Experiment Station ($29.9 million), Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing research and tech transfer facility ($724,000), University…

In a recent Digest article, SSTI covered research highlighting the oversized role that offshoring multinationals had in manufacturing employment decline from 1983 to 2011. During this time, deindustrialization and manufacturing unemployment had a profound impact on community approaches to economic development. Larger metropolitan areas like Pittsburgh, PA, Roanoke, VA, and Greenville, SC, have received considerable acclaim for their ability to restructure their economies around new and innovative technologies. Less covered, however, are the smaller rural or rust belt regions that are seeking to leverage higher education, community partnerships, an increasingly skilled workforce, and innovative technologies to become more competitive in a 21st century economy. Faced with the closure of a plant operated the Robert Shaw Corporation and the loss of hundreds of jobs, the Southern Missouri city of West Plains developed partnerships with Missouri State University-West Plains, the West Plains School District and the South Central Career Center to create the Greater Ozarks Center for Advanced Technology (GOCAT). Funded with a $225,000 grant from the Delta Regional Authority and a…