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.

After training nearly 80 PhD scientists and engineers in the craft of policy making, the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) has awarded planning grants to nine other states to evaluate the potential to create a policy fellowship for scientists and engineers in their state capital.  The new one-year grant, which is administered by CCST and funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Simons Foundation, will support teams in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Washington as they work on feasibility studies and other strategic steps toward creating science fellowships in their state policy arenas. It is up to each state to design the fellowship that would work best in their state, whether that is a position in the legislature or another body.

More governors delivered their state of the state addresses and this week we bring you TBED news from governors around the country. Areas of focus include tech infrastructure needs, diversifying economies, cybersecurity and education. While some governors are giving their inaugural addresses, Gov. Nikki Haley used her time to bid farewell. Following are excerpts from the past week’s addresses.

Colorado

Gov. John Hickenlooper gave his annual state of the state address last Thursday, focusing on infrastructure needs – notably roads, but also tech needs:

“We need a comprehensive focus on infrastructure that supports not just transportation, but also broadband, education, healthcare, and our environment.

 “Today, I’m announcing the creation of a broadband office to help us get from 70% to 85% coverage by the time we leave office and 100% by 2020.

As new and supplemental state budgets are being proposed, SSTI is monitoring the proposals and will report on developments impacting prosperity through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. The first budgets released – from Colorado, Mississippi, Oregon and Wyoming – represent a mixed bag with new initiatives proposed in three states and program elimination in the fourth.

Colorado

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper released his administration’s $27 billion budget request for fiscal year 2017, which includes significant refunds for taxpayers and reductions for higher education, hospitals and state buildings. Reductions for Colorado’s colleges are estimated to be $20 million, with the governor’s office proposing to lift the cap on tuition increases, according to The Denver Post. Though Colorado has long boasted a dynamic and talented workforce for high-tech jobs, tuition hikes could complicate the state’s efforts to build on that advantage. Two recent Colorado studies recommended expansions of programs and partnerships that forge stronger talent pipelines in high-tech industries.

Over the past few months, SSTI has followed proposals issued by governors in their budget requests, State of the State Addresses, Inaugural Speeches and other events. Now that many state legislatures have begun approving budgets, the Digest will check on the status of these proposals, and examine the state of technology-based economic development funding in the states. This week, we review actions in Alaska, Colorado and Indiana.

AlaskaThe Alaskan legislature reached a fiscal year 2016 operating budget agreement earlier this week (HB 72), but were unable to close a $3 billion gap. Gov. Bill Walker convened a special session on Wednesday to demand that lawmakers find a way to balance the budget.

Under the current agreement, legislators allocated $3 million for economic development and $11.5 million for an eighth round of renewable energy project grants through the Alaska Energy Authority.

Even after equity crowdfunding reached a milestone earlier this month with new Securities Exchange Commission proposed rule changes, state legislatures across the country continue to pass intrastate crowdfunding bills. In April, governors from Arizona (HB 2591) and Colorado (HB 1246) signed bills that will allow startups and other businesses in their respective states to raise capital via equity crowdfunding exemptions. Arizona and Colorado joined Massachusetts (Read more in the SSTI Digest) as states that have passed exemptions since the start of the year. The next state most likely to pass crowdfunding legislation is Minnesota – once they are able to finalize compromise between lawmakers and state regulators.

Incumbent governors in Colorado and Montana released their budget proposals this month, with both of the proposed budgets including provisions that prioritize infrastructure spending, workforce development programs, and education. Infrastructure and capital projects in particular were popular among the proposed budgets, with Colorado’s budget allocating $281.6 million to improve technology infrastructure and Montana allocating $300 million for infrastructure, including $45 million to Eastern Montana communities impacted by oil and gas development. Notable provisions within the proposed budgets that are related to economic development are detailed below.

Colorado

In case you missed it, the midterm elections were on Tuesday, resulting in Republicans taking control of Congress, several new governors, and five states endorsing minimum wage increases. Although the 146 state ballot measures up for vote were a quarter-century low, several proposals were relevant to the TBED community, as highlighted in a Digest article last week. Voters ultimately approved many of these proposals, although initiatives related to higher-education in North Dakota and Oregon both failed. 

On November 4, 42 states will vote on 146 ballot issues across a wide array of issues. In addition to initiatives on gun control, bear baiting, and the minimum wage, several initiatives relevant to the TBED community are also up for decision. SSTI has gathered information on many of these and will discuss their results after next week’s elections.

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, capital & tax credits, workforce & STEM and manufacturing & clusters.

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, capital & tax credits, technology commercialization & infrastructure and  workforce & STEM.