SSTI Digest

The Wyoming legislature wrapped up its 2001 General Session on March 1. Several laws and supplemental appropriations were made that affect local efforts to grow a stronger tech-based economy. 



Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 10 permits the Wyoming Business Council to use state funds to provide bridge financing to businesses, not to exceed 35 percent of the total cost of any particular project. 



SEA 71 creates a ten-year University of Wyoming endowment challenge program through which the state treasurer will match 1:1 each substantial private donation made to the university’s endowment fund. The legislature appropriated $30 million for the program in this year’s budget. 



House Enrolled Act (HEA) 32 repeals the sunset provisions for the University of Wyoming technology transfer center program, which without the law, would have terminated July 1, 2001. 



The legislature also provided $250,000 for the preliminary assessment, analysis, design and cost estimates for the University of Wyoming to establish a Wyoming technology business center. 



SEA 52 creates the Wyoming Energy Commission to facilitate the development, production, transportation, marketing and use of Wyoming's coal, hydro, ethanol, natural gas, oil, uranium, solar and wind resources. A portion of the Commission’s activities and a $1 million appropriation is to be dedicated to recommending research, development and demonstration projects and programs necessary to evaluate the availability and cost effectiveness of conservation and renewable resources in Wyoming. 



To increase access to capital, HEA 87 permits the state treasurer to invest up to $100 million in industrial development bonds and up to $55 million in small businesses through the purchase portions of federal SBA loan, FHA business and industry loans, and EDA loans. Prior to the bill’s passage, the ceiling for both investment activities had been limited to $35 million. The Wyoming Business Council administers the investment programs. 



To increase telemedicine opportunities and practices in the state, HEA 117 authorizes the department of administration and information to provide telecommunications services to private health care providers through the Wyoming equality network infrastructure. 



All of the bills mentioned above can be found at: http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2001/billsInfo.htm 

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has selected six more incubators to join the National Alliance of Clean Energy Business Incubators, formed by NREL in April 2000. Alliance member incubators will focus on accelerating the growth and development of U.S. technology-based start-up companies working on a broad range of clean energy technologies, including solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, microturbine, fuel cell, power quality, energy efficiency, alternative fuels and infrastructure, and information technologies. 



The Alliance teams NREL with the seven business incubators and a network of venture capitalists and energy industry leaders to provide business and financial services to clean energy entrepreneurs. Each selected incubator received a $1 million grant from NREL to support incubator operations. 



Participating incubators include: 

There is often a disconnect between government policies to encourage entrepreneurship and the actual practice of launching fast growing companies, according to the fourth major report from the National Commission on Entrepreneurship (NCOE). Five Myths about Entrepreneurs: Understanding How Businesses Start and Grow is being released to educate policymakers about the vitally different characteristics of entrepreneurs and traditional small business owners. The report also sets out key policy implications based on these different characteristics. 



NCOE argues many policies are based on misconceptions about entrepreneurship: 

The state-by-state results for the 2000 SBIR Phase I awards — as reported individually by the 10 participating federal agencies and compiled by SSTI --- are presented in the accompanying table. Totals may not reflect new awards or cancellations made by an agency after the initial selection announcements. Abstract information for funded SBIR projects may be obtained on each agency’s SBIR website. Easy links are available from the DOEd SBIR web side: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/SBIR/links.html 

Editor’s Note: For the skeptical Digest reader that viewed our assertion in last week’s issue that there is an average of at least one incubator-related article published somewhere in the country each day. Since we have several clippings on hand, it is easy to provide more examples of the continuing explosion of communities and states using non-profit incubators as tools for developing and expanding tech-based economies. Due to space considerations, a list of 17 more local incubator stories published in the last nine days alone is provided on the accompanying web page.

President Bush has nominated Los Angeles resident Hector Barretto to serve as Administrator of the Small Business Administration. 



Philip Psilos is the new Director of Economic & Technology Policy for the National Governors' Association. 



Timothy A. Klein has been selected to become the Associate Administrator for Innovation, Research, and Education for the U.S. Department of Transportation. 



SSTI extends its congratulations to Bruce Gjovig, Director of the Center for Innovation in Grand Forks, North Dakota, for his induction into the North Dakota Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. 

President Bush has nominated Los Angeles resident Hector Barretto to serve as Administrator of the Small Business Administration.

Philip Psilos is the new Director of Economic & Technology Policy for the National Governors' Association.

Timothy A. Klein has been selected to become the Associate Administrator for Innovation, Research, and Education for the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

SSTI extends its congratulations to Bruce Gjovig, Director of the Center for Innovation in Grand Forks, North Dakota, for his induction into the North Dakota Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. 

With the slowdown in the economy, there is widespread concern about the kind of painful belt-tightening which occurred in the states in the early 1990s. Because of this perception and the rapid change in so many states’ fiscal situations, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released this week a new survey to update its January 4, 2001, State Fiscal Outlook for 2001. NCSL found that 33 states -- down from 44 reported only seven weeks earlier -- still report that revenues are on target or above forecasted levels for the current fiscal year. The likely reason for the 11-state decrease is lower than anticipated November and December revenues. Medicaid and increased funding for education are the two main expenditures pressuring states’ budgets. 



States most affected by the slowdown are located in the South and in the Great Lakes region: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. 



Most states report they will not need to cut their FY 2001 budgets to keep them in balance; however, 11 have implemented or are considering budget reductions to current year allocations. Five states already have tapped their “rainy day funds” to end the year in the black, and another six are considering the option. 



Eight states (Alaska, California, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming) reported their spending on target and receiving higher-than-expected revenues. Some states, such as Alaska, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming got a boost from higher than anticipated natural gas tax receipts. 



According to NCSL, most states expect to experience a maintenance-only budget for FY 2002 with few new initiatives and modest spending growth. Ten states, however, reported tax increases are under consideration for next year. 



For more detailed information on state FY 2001 expenditures, budget cuts, reserve funds, tax changes, and growth rates for FY 2002 budgets, review State Fiscal Outlook for 2001: February Update from NCSL at http://www.ncsl.org/programs/fiscal/upsfo2001.htm 

On February 26, President Bush issued a memorandum to 21 departments, agencies and other executive offices to create an Interagency Working Group on Federalism. The group is to: 



a) Identify initiatives that promote principles of federalism, such as: