SSTI Digest

Over the five-year period from 2004 to 2008, 124 of the 366 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas experienced a change in per capita income at a greater rate than the U.S. as a whole, according to statistics released last week by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). In 2008, per capita personal income in the U.S. was $39,582, a 19.4 percent increase since 2004. To further examine all 366 metro areas in the U.S., SSTI has prepared a table showing the amount and change in per capita income for each MSA from 2004 to 2008. The metro area situated around Midland, Texas experienced the largest increase in per capita income, growing by 51.1 percent over the five years. The Midland MSA was also in the top ten of MSAs in its projected 2008 per capita income. Rounding out the top 10 in terms of five-year percent increases were the metro areas centered around: Houma, LA Odessa, TX Casper, WY Jacksonville, NC New Orleans, LA Lake Charles, LA Manhattan, KS Lafayette, LA Farmington, NM In the press release announcing the data, the BEA states income tax rebates included in the 2008 Economic Stimulus Act had a measurable impact on the 2008 per capita income…

Congress has approved a two-month extension for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, which was set to expire on Friday, July 31. S. 1513 extends the program in its current form until Sept 30, 2009, which coincides with the end of the federal fiscal year.

The U.S. venture capital industry showed signs of growth during the second quarter of 2009, according to the most recent update from the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers Moneytree Report. While the total number of deals remained flat, total dollars invested increased by 15 percent over the first quarter of the year. Much of the growth is the result of increased investment in seed and early-stage companies, which grew 67 percent over the previous quarter in an encouraging sign for entrepreneurs. Life science (including the biotechnology and medical device industries) investment also received a boost, receiving the highest percentage of U.S. venture capital dollars the sector has received in the history of the report. Despite those encouraging signs, however, investment remains well below levels reached one year ago. Investment during the most recent quarter amounted to less than one-half of the dollars invested and 58 percent of the deals during the same quarter last year. The NVCA/PricewaterhouseCoopers announcement notes that, at the current rate of recovery, national investment totals for the year likely will resemble totals from 1996 and…

The New York State legislature passed an act enabling New York City to move forward with a $3 million biotech tax credit that is expected to encourage biotechnology firms to bring their jobs, innovation, and emerging technologies to the city. The bill (S.4845-B/A.8131) is expected to be signed into law by Gov. David Paterson. Among the first beneficiaries of the credit will be new tenants for the East River Science Park (ESRP), a $700 million bioscience complex being built along First Avenue between 28th and 30th Streets. Last week, ESRP announced its first signed tenant, biotechnology company ImClone Systems, which is owned by Eli Lilly. The city's new biotech tax credit, in tandem with state tax incentives and broad-based government investment in diversifying the local economy, will bring more such companies to ESRP and sites across the five boroughs. The new tax credit, designed to work with New York State's Qualified Emerging Technologies Credit (QETC), will be capped at $3 million per year and will go into effect for three years beginning January 2010. The credit will help emerging firms equip labs, train technicians, and fund access to high-tech equipment.…

Funding for higher education initiatives fell victim to Ohio's budget woes as legislators worked to fill a projected $3.2 billion deficit. The enacted budget signed into law earlier this month by Gov. Ted Strickland cuts spending by $2.5 billion and leverages $5 billion in federal stimulus funds, according to the governor's office. Earlier this year, Gov. Strickland asked lawmakers to continue for a third year the tuition freeze at all public universities. Funding for this request was not included in the final budget, and as a result, universities and colleges are allowed to raise tuition by 3.5 percent each of the next two years. Two schools, Ohio State University and Cuyahoga Community College, announced they would maintain level tuition for the upcoming year despite the cuts. Also left out of the enacted budget was a new co-op and internship program that would have provided training for individuals seeking employment in biotechnology, bioscience, or other high-skill fields. The program was part of the state's stimulus plan passed by lawmakers in 2008 (see the Feb. 13, 2008 issue of the Digest). However, lawmakers left out of the final budget the first $100…

The legislature approved a budget agreement for the 2009-11 biennium last month, preserving partial funding for Oregon innovation efforts and passing legislation aimed at green job creation. A major component of Gov. Ted Kulongoski's climate change agenda did not survive the legislative session, however. Along with $2 billion in cuts, the approved budget relies on federal stimulus funds and taps into state reserve funds, reports the Portland Business Journal. To generate additional revenue for the state, Gov. Kulongoski signed legislation last week raising both personal income taxes for top earners and corporate income taxes. Although lawmakers typically meet every other year, the legislature likely will convene early next year to address any further budget gaps, the article states. The Oregon Innovation Council (Oregon Inc.) will receive $16 million over the biennium to continue R&D and commercialization efforts in nanoscience and renewable energy through the state's signature research centers. This is scaled back from the governor's recommendation of $20.5 million and $12 million less than the 2007-09 biennial appropriation. Funding is distributed among the…

Gov. Pat Quinn recently signed into law a six-year, $31 billion Jobs Now plan and smaller capital bill supporting science and technology research and commercialization and broadband deployment. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will administer several of the grants. Funding for the Jobs Now plan is provided by a combination of state debt and federal and local matching funds. The bill allows the state to access more than $3.7 billion in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. Taxpayers, however, will face several fee increases to pay for the 20-year bonds issued to provide funding for the state's $13 billion share of the six-year capital plan. The bill allocates $50 million to DCEO to support broadband deployment in order to expand and strengthen existing broadband network infrastructure, health technology, telemedicine, distance learning, and public safety. Another $15 million is appropriated from the Build Illinois Bond Fund to provide grants, loans, and other investments to emerging technology enterprises to support and encourage commercialization of tech-based products and services, tech transfer projects…

Decreases in the number of young adults in the state are more a result of fewer children being born 25 to 35 years ago, and not because of a substantial brain drain or outmigration of talent from New Hampshire, according to a task force convened by New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch. However, attracting and retaining younger workers to the state is imperative because of the large share of baby-boomers in the workforce that will be retiring in the next decade. Coupling the state's skilled workforce needs with the demographic trend of a 23 percent reduction of 25 to 34 year-olds in New Hampshire from 1990 to 2000, the task force presented to the Governor recommendations for boosting the number of young adults in the state. New Hampshire's concerns are similar to select states across the U.S., as many regions are witnessing an aging of their population and a lack of in-migration. While the proportion of the entire U.S. population 65 years and older will be 13 percent in 2010, it sharply will increase to 16.1 percent in 2020 and 19.3 percent in 2030 before leveling off at about 20 percent in 2050, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. However, these demographic shifts in age…

Rebecca Bagley, who left her position as deputy secretary for the Technology Investment Office within the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, was appointed president-elect of NorTech. Bagley will succeed Dorothy Baunach, the founding staff director of NorTech, as president and chief executive officer. Baunach will become president emeritus, serving as an adviser until December 2010. John Sider has been appointed to succeed Bagley. Prior to his appointment, Sider served as the director of venture investment for DCED. Steve Crawford is leaving Brookings to take a new job as vice president for policy and research at CFED -- the Corporation for Enterprise Development in Washington, DC. Ken Marcus has been appointed park director for the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park. Marcus succeeds Marshall Worden who retired. Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter announced he has appointed state Rep. Don Marostica, a member of the legislature's Joint Budget Committee and a Loveland business owner, as the new director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Gov. Bill Ritter together with Christine…

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has released new information about its stimulus-funded grant program for state-based broadband mapping and planning initiatives. The State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program will provide approximately $240 million in grants to assist states or their designees to develop state-specific data on broadband deployment and adoption. The competitive, merit-based awards will require funding matches with applications due by August 14. The program was introduced as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Broadband Data Improvement Act. By funding various statewide initiatives, NTIA plans to combine the resulting data with public information to create a national broadband map. The Recovery Act requires that such a map be publicly-available by February of next year. This map will help inform future research and policy decisions to expand high-speed internet access. In addition to maps, the state grants also will provide support to efforts to identify barriers to broadband adoption and will fund the creation of local technology planning teams. Each state only may have one entity…

Gov. Jim Doyle signed the 2009-11 biennial budget last month, providing funding for university-based research and enhancing tax credits for angel and venture investors supporting high-tech R&D. Several of the governor's priorities outlined earlier this year in the Digest as part of the state's stimulus plan were funded this session, including the following provisions to enhance the Angel Investment and Venture Capital Tax Credit programs, known as Act 255: Tripling the Acceleration Wisconsin tax credit from $1 million to $4 million for angel and venture investors in support of startup technology companies, beginning retroactively for the 2008 tax year; Tripling the annual pool of credits available from $5.5 million to $18.25 million per year for angel credits and from $6 million a year to $18.75 million a year for venture credits, beginning Jan. 1, 2011; Raising the aggregate creditable investment from $8 million per year from any combination of angel or venture sources, beginning Jan. 1, 2011; Allowing angel investors to claim the entire 25 percent credit on their investment in the first taxable year; and, Permitting insurance companies to claim the venture…

While maintaining a $1 billion reserve over the next biennium, the 2009-11 budget signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels reduces by half funding for the state's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund and appropriates only a fraction of the requested $70 million for the Indiana Innovation Alliance, an initiative to grow the state's life science industries. Indiana's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund administered by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) will receive $35 million over the next two years - half the amount appropriated last biennium. Supporting numerous entrepreneurial ventures over the last 10 years, IEDC uses the fund to offer loans and grants to companies bringing new technologies to market, to match SBIR grants, and to create University Centers of Excellence. Additionally, no funding was included for IEDC's High Growth Business Incentive Fund, which received $3 million last biennium. The Technology Development Grant Program, which supports the creation and expansion of technology parks, will receive $3.8 million over the biennium, $400,000 less than last biennium. Lawmakers allocated $20 million over the next two years…