SSTI Digest

Earnings for Appalachian manufacturing workers grew 3.4 percent from 2012 through 2017 to an average of $63,583. The growth is in the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Industrial Make-up of the Appalachian Region, 2002-2017, which reviews employment and wages by sector across the region. Appalachian workers overall saw earnings increase by 3.7 percent over the five years. In the rest of the country, manufacturing wage growth was 1.2 percent or 3.3 percent across all sectors. Wage growth was uneven within the region. Southern Appalachia saw the greatest gains, with 5.2 percent growth, driven in large part by Georgia’s increase of 6.5 percent. Appalachian counties adjacent to metros saw the largest increases (6.4 percent near large metros and 5.8 percent near small ones), although these gains still leave an earnings gap compared to metro-based manufacturing employees in the region. The comparatively strong percentage gains for manufacturing employees in Appalachia has not closed much of the earnings gap with workers outside the region. In 2017, the average manufacturing employee outside of Appalachia earned $79,098 — $15,515 more than those working…

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham became the latest governor to propose a plan for free tuition, with what has been called the “one of the most ambitious attempts to make higher education more accessible.” If approved, the plan would allow in-state students to attend any of the 29 state public colleges or universities, regardless of income. It is designed as a “last-dollar” program. If approved, it would be just the second state to offer full tuition coverage to its residents (New York offers the Excelsior scholarship, which will be fully phased in in 2020), according to New Mexico’s governor. The New Mexico program would be “an absolute game-changer” for the state, according to the governor, who said in a prepared release that higher education has been a victim of the recession and that by making college more accessible to students in the state, the state would in turn see improved economic growth, improved outcomes for workers and families, and a better trained and better compensated workforce. While New Mexico’s efforts are still in the proposal stage and Virginia’s governor has announced that he will…

Innovation initiatives are seeing increased funding in some states as legislatures across the country begin to finalize budget bills and other legislation. SSTI continues to monitor these developments and this week we cover budget bills in Idaho that saw small increases to the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, as well as increases in the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and STEM Action Center, and new funding for a computer science initiative. South Dakota will see an increase in funding for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and West Virginia passed bills creating an SBIR/STTR matching grant program, support for community and technical college tuition assistance, expansion of broadband service, and other innovation-related initiatives in its budget that passed earlier in March.   Idaho Idaho Gov. Brad Little recently signed several appropriations bills that affect the state innovation economy-focused initiatives, including: $366,000 for TechHelp Idaho, the state's MEP center, which represents about a $10,000 increase in state funding over the current fiscal year allocation of $356,500; $686,700, also an…

Reviewing another slate of governors’ state of the state and inaugural addresses reveals some recurring themes. With a focus on maintaining gains made since the Great Recession and increasing budgets, many governors are holding off on major new initiatives, but are proposing means to increase broadband access, diversify their economies, build renewable energy efforts, and increase their rainy day funds in case of an economic downturn. SSTI presents part 2 of our Tech Talkin’ Govs series, with coverage of governors in Colorado, Connecticut, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. Follow along in the coming weeks as we continue to cover all of the governors’ addresses for 2019, bringing you excerpts of their words, promises and programs that touch on the innovation economy. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis reiterated his goal of reaching 100 percent renewable energy in the state by 2040 and desire to expand broadband: “As Governor, my goal is to lead the statewide transition to a clean, sustainable, and growing economy. It is imperative for our climate, our security, our health, and our economic growth for all Coloradans. We will lead…

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 continues 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 third installment, we present excerpts from governors in Delaware, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia. Many of the governors across the country are delivering the final addresses and taking the time to look back over their term on accomplishments while others are looking forward to new initiatives. The Delaware governor’s comments in the innovation space centered on jobs and strengthening training opportunities while in New Mexico the governor is term limited and she took the opportunity to focus on jobs and manufacturing partnership with Mexico. The Rhode Island governor, who has indicated she will run for reelection this year, focused on education, job training and small business. Growth in the state’s clean energy industry was an accomplishment touted by the outgoing governor in Virginia. And in West Virginia, the governor is interested in free technical and community colleges.

Two states taking a fresh look at their economies convened task forces that recently released reports detailing efforts the states can make to improve their state’s economic futures. In Missouri, Gov. Eric Greitens asked an innovation task force to take stock of the state’s current standing and offer options to help businesses and innovators succeed. The resulting summary report offers more than 30 options that the state could pursue in growing its economy. In West Virginia, WVU President Gordon Gee, Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert and WV Secretary of Commerce Woody Thrasher released findings from the West Virginia Forward report that identifies possible short- and long-term solutions for the economic challenges the state faces and will result in a memorandum of understanding among the three to help implement the report’s findings.

The state budget process is winding down across the country and SSTI continues to review the final budgets for funding for innovation-based programs. This week, we found level funding for South Carolina programs including MEP and regional-based economic development efforts, while university programs in Texas are taking a hit, and in West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice refused to sign the state budget although he will allow the legislatively approved measure to become law. Unless otherwise noted, the figures below represent level funding from the previous budgets. South Carolina South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed the state’s 2018 budget (HB 3720) that would support several tech-based economic development programs that are funded through the Department of Commerce including: $1.3 million for the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership; $500,000 (up from $100,000 in FY 2016-2017 actual funding levels) for the South Carolina Small Business Development Centers; $250,000 for the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness – a nonpartisan, business-led non-profit organization committed to advance the long-term economic competitiveness of…

Twelve gubernatorial seats were up for election Tuesday, five of which were held by incumbents seeking reelection. Four of those – Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D), Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D), Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) – were reelected for second terms. In North Carolina, Democratic candidate and State Attorney General Roy Cooper has a lead of less than one percent over incumbent Gov. Pat McCrory. Gov. McCrory has not conceded and the result is pending a canvass of votes, which may not be complete until November 18. As of this publication, there are seven new governors taking office: ·         Democratic Congressman John Carney won the seat in Delaware. ·         Republican Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb won in Indiana. ·         Republican and former Navy Seal Eric Greitens won in Missouri. ·         Republican Chris Sununu won in New Hampshire. ·         Republican…

Opportunities for successful workforce development partnerships exist across a variety of industries and geographies, according to a recently released report from the Community Development Department at the Cleveland Fed.  The report, Addressing Employment Needs through Sector Partnerships, includes five case studies from throughout the Federal Reserve’s Fourth District, which contains Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Kentucky, the panhandle of West Virginia and all of Ohio. Although sector-based initiatives have been around for quite some time, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, whose final regulations became publicly available in June 2016, places a strong emphasis on aligning education and job training with employer needs, according to the report’s authors Kyle Fee, Matt Klesta, and Lisa Nelson. Using numerous interviews to conduct their research, each case study highlights how initiatives are structured and operated so that they identify and meet the needs of both employers and jobseekers. The case studies are: Addressing the Needs of Health Care Employers: Tri-County Health Care Industry Partnership; Building a Pipeline of IT Talent in…

Since the beginning of July, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced almost $7.3 million in grants to support advanced manufacturing and support workforce development efforts in communities impacted by the decline coal industry. In Florida and Washington, the EDA announced funding to support the facilities that can house local manufacturing firms and provide the space and equipment necessary for them to create jobs. In New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, the EDA accessed funding made available through EDA's Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) and Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) initiative to support workforce development efforts that address job losses due to the decline of coal industries in those states. Florida On August 9, EDA announced that it will commit $2.2 million in grant funding to the Osceola County Board of County Commissioners to help build the Florida Advanced Manufacturing Research Center. In partnership with Osceola County, the University of Central Florida and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council also have committed to support building…

A mixture of success and trepidation accompanied 2016 legislation introduced in  several states to create, extend, or recapitalize angel tax credit programs. While legislation in Arizona’s legislature failed due to a lack of support, angel tax credit bills in Kansas and Tennessee passed easily with broad support from their governors, lawmakers, and the public. In North Dakota, the state’s angel tax credit program faces an unclear future due to concerns about transparency and oversight. To stimulate investments in West Virginia’s startup community, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed legislation allowing non-accredited investors to make equity investment in state-based businesses. Arizona Attempts to resurrect the Arizona Angel Investment Tax Credit Program, which expired in 2014, languished in the state legislature after proponents failed despite support from the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) and the Arizona Technology Council.  SB 1139  included a $7 million allocation to recapitalize the tax credit, which had been a $20 million angel tax credit program established in 2006 and overseen by the ACA. The legislation would have allowed…