SSTI Digest

As governors and state legislatures continue their negotiations over state budgets, SSTI has reviewed the latest to be signed. The process has proved difficult in more than a few states, with New Mexico having to overcome several stalemates and still facing shortages while in Oklahoma three-fourths of the state agencies are seeing decreased funding due to the state’s $900 million shortfall. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed Colorado’s FY 2018 budget. While the state increased spending by 4 percent overall, few of the state’s investments for innovation were adjusted from the previous year. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade received a substantial cut of $8 million, leaving the office with $51.0 million for FY 2018. Within the office, the advanced industries incentive programs received approval to spend up to $14 million (reduction of $1.5 million) pending the availability of funds, while small business development centers ($94,144), Leading Edge grants ($75,976) and Rural Jump Start ($80,983) all received level funding. Other innovation-related programs also mostly received level funding, with the…

The perils of regional economies being too dependent on single industry clusters, particularly as it affects the financing of state governments, are playing out in the Great Plains. Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Wyoming have been or still are experiencing recessions, beginning as early as spring 2015 for two, according to a new analysis by Jason P. Brown for the Tenth Federal Reserve District. Testing two different approaches for assessing economic status, Brown’s review of national and state recession occurrences during the past 36 years found states whose economies are heavily dependent on the energy sector experience more recessions than the nation overall. Fortunately, for most of the energy states, recessions are usually shorter in duration than national downturns. Until the Great Recession, the business cycles of the states in the Tenth Federal Reserve District heavily dependent on the fossil energy cluster tracked well with non-energy states. Beginning in winter 2009, a strong divergence began, that appears to be expanding still. Those Tenth District states with more diversified economies are performing twice as well as the energy…

In the latest round of state budget proposals, TBED initiatives receive mixed reviews. Some governors are boosting funding while others in cash-strapped states are proposing cuts. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley’s FY 2018 budget would boost spending on education, provide government workers a cost of living adjusted raise, and remove the sales tax on groceries. Notable for technology-based economic development is $2.9 million for the Alabama Innovation Fund in FY 2018, an increase of 20.1 percent from FY 2017. The fund operates two programs: a renewal program, which helps support university high technology infrastructure, and a research program, which allocates funding for commercialization and university-industry partnerships.   Additionally, the Alabama Technology Network would receive $4.9 million in FY 2018, the same as it received in the previous fiscal year. Connecticut Faced with a $1.7 billion deficit, Gov. Dannel Malloy’s $20 billion FY 2018-2019 biennial budget includes little in the way of new funding. The state’s Department of Economic and Community Development would receive $29.9 million in FY 2018 and $29.3…

Over the last several months, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced millions of dollars in grants to support tech-based economic development efforts in communities across the country (see recent Digest articles from August 18 and September 8). The most recent announcements of grant funding will provide targeted funding to expand and build facilities that support entrepreneurial/business development in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming as well as workforce efforts in South Carolina. Each of the grants also addresses a specific regional need or key industries including growth in advanced manufacturing sectors, attraction of foreign direct investment, and support for key regional tech-focused industries such as agriculture and healthcare. Oklahoma Two organizations located in Oklahoma City will receive $1.9 million in grants to provide business and technical support to manufacturing and service companies and to purchase critical equipment needed to boost workforce training opportunities in the medical sector. The Oklahoma Center for Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) will receive $1 million to provide business and technical…

SSTI’s analysis of gubernatorial addresses, strategic plans and budget proposals continues this week with highlights from Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Governors are facing difficult fiscal situations in several of these states, often scaling back tech-based economic development efforts. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, however, is using a fiscal surplus to invest in higher education and regionally focused economic initiatives. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley rolled out his Great State 2019 plan during his State of the State address earlier this month, with many aspects included in his proposed fiscal year 2017 budget. Education and workforce efforts plan a key role in the plan and include the FUTURE scholarship program to provide every student with the chance to attend a state community college, and a consolidation of the state’s regional workforce development councils. The governor instructs the Office of Broadband Development to step up its efforts to expand access to high-speed data services, particularly telemedicine. Last year, Gov. Bentley permanently established the Alabama Small Business Commission and Advisory Committee,…

On Monday, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed a $7.1 billion fiscal year 2016 budget (HB 2242) that includes a 3.5 percent reduction in base higher education funding. A portion of this reduction was offset by an agreement to pick up the cost of higher education bond debt service, which brings the net percentage reduction closer to 2.44 percent, according to the The Oklahoman. K-12 education funding will remain at current levels. The budget includes $16 million in appropriated funds for the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology OCAST). Another $4.8 million in dedicated and other funds will be provided through the state's Research Support Revolving Fund to finance OCAST duties. Earlier this year, as part of her budget proposal, Gov. Fallin launched the Oklahoma Works initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor and operated by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. The new effort was launched to create partnerships between educational institutions and the private sector to create a pipeline for high-quality jobs.

This week, governors in Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wisconsin unveiled their budget proposals. Included in the governors’ recommendations are several cases of agency restructuring and funds for workforce development, innovation tax credits, and other TBED-relevant issues. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder took an unconventional approach to issuing his $54 billion proposed FY2016 budget, releasing overviews on the popular blog-publishing platform Medium.  More than three-fourths of the governor’s proposed total spending is dedicated to education and health and human services. Under the budget recommendation, universities would receive an operations increase of $28 million (2 percent) and would be required to hold any tuition increases to less than 2.8 percent in order to receive new funding.  For workforce development, Gov. Snyder proposes $17.8 million to better prepare students for colleges and careers by expanding career and technical education programs throughout the state. To encourage more residents to master a skilled trade, Gov. Snyder also proposes a $10 million increase for skilled-trade training programs, bringing total…

SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series has returned as governors across the country formally convene 2015 legislative sessions. The series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from governors' State of the State, Budget and Inaugural addresses. The fifth installment of this year’s series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Read the first, second, third and fourth installments of this year’s series. IllinoisGov. Bruce Rauner, State of the State Address, Feb. 4, 2015"... Too many people in our communities must overcome not only hurdles that state government has put in place, but also decades of hidden barriers that have caused their communities to suffer. Approximately 80% of individuals in Illinois apprenticeship programs are white even though Caucasians make up fewer than 63% of our population. ..." "... We should require unions that contract with the state to have their apprenticeship programs reflect the demographics of Illinois communities, and to have their membership on public construction projects reflect the diversity in the surrounding area.…

This article is part of SSTI's series on trends in state technology-based economic development legislation in 2014. Read our other entries covering legislative action on patent reform, research capacity, technology commercialization & infrastructure, tax credits & STEM and manufacturing & clusters. Addressing accessibility, affordability and ensuring workforce preparedness topped legislators’ agendas in many states during the 2014 sessions. States and regions are increasingly competing for talent as the trend toward growing and nurturing innovation ecosystems continues. Attracting and retaining high-tech companies also requires states to have a steady stream of tech-savvy workers. Specifically, policymakers are interested in matching worker skills with industry sectors important to their communities, and many of the efforts put into place during the legislative sessions focus on building long-term relationships between industry and higher education. Three states, Louisiana, Utah and Wisconsin, dedicated notably large sums of money toward workforce training with a STEM focus. One of the largest investments was made in Louisiana, where…

The fifth installment of SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Connecticut, Maine, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Read part I, part II, part III and part IV.   Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy, State of the State Address, Feb. 6, 2014 “Here are three ways we can continue helping employers to grow jobs this session. “First, we can continue to fund the Small Business Express program, which has a proven record of success. “Second, the budget adjustments I submit to you today include $125 million to support Connecticut businesses. That includes increased funding for the Manufacturing Assistance Act, to help grow some of those target industries I mentioned, as well as a new Advanced Manufacturing Fund. “Together these initiatives will provide incentive-driven financial assistance to Connecticut businesses to help them modernize their technologies, focus on research and development, and create the jobs of tomorrow. … “... To ensure that our students are better prepared for college and a career when they finish high school, particularly in high-tech…

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin announced that Jonna Kirschner, executive director of the Oklahoma Commerce Department, will serve on a transition team to establish a new workers’ compensation system. Vaughn Clark , the Commerce Department’s director of community development, was named as interim executive director. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper named Mark Sirangelo, who is head of Sierra Nevada Corp., as chair of the Colorado Innovation Network and the state's new chief innovation officer. John Rhodes has been appointed as president and CEO of NYSERDA. Brian Cummings is leaving as vice president for technology commercialization at Ohio State University to seek other professional opportunities. Ray Atilano, the executive director of technology commercialization, also has left his position. Christy Wyskiel has been named senior adviser to the president for enterprise development at Johns Hopkins University. Wyskiel will fill the role beginning Jan. 1, succeeding Aris Melissaratos who accepted a new position as executive-in-residence and senior adviser to Dean Bernard T. Ferrari at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. Michael…

A new chair of the National Governors Association (NGA) also means a new challenge and opportunity to improve state economies. This week, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, newly elected NGA chair, announced a year-long initiative designed to improve the capacity and effectiveness of states’ education and workforce training systems and to align those needs with the needs of employers. The initiative kicks off with an intensive effort among six to eight states that will develop and implement a policy agenda to build and strengthen education and workforce training. Referring to a degree or certificate as the “new minimum” in order to gain access to opportunity, Gov. Fallin also hopes to elevate the importance of postsecondary education through the initiative. Read more about America Works: Education and Training for Tomorrow’s Jobs