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Kentucky Innovation Act Calls for $53 Million S&T Investment

Kentucky Governor Paul Patton and House Speaker Jody Richardson have announced a new technology bill to help Kentucky develop an innovation-driven economy. House Bill 572, the Kentucky Innovation Act, is a result of the Science and Technology Strategy designed by the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation in August, 1999 (see September 3, 1999 SSTI Weekly Digest (http://www.ssti.org/Digest/1999/090399.htm).

The bill calls for the Commonwealth to make a $53 million investment in several new economic development, research, and technology transfer programs and initiatives. Along with the state’s $4 million match for the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Research (EPSCoR), the bill includes the following funding proposals:

Impact of 1999 State Election Results on S&T

In this off-year election, there were only a few races that are significant to the S&T community. Democrat Paul Patton, incumbent Governor of Kentucky, easily won re-election over three contenders. Patton becomes the first Kentucky Governor to be elected to a second term since 1800. On October 23, Louisiana Governor Mike Foster avoided a runoff election by winning 62 percent of the vote. Foster became Louisiana’s first Republican governor to be re-elected to a second term. Foster switched to the Republican party five years ago. Meanwhile in the neighboring state of Mississippi, the governor’s race is too close to call. Republican Congressman Mike Parker and Democrat Lt. Governor Ronnie Musgrove have split the vote with two minor party candidates. Absentee ballots to be counted over the next ten days may determine the outcome. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the Mississippi House — heavily controlled by the Democrats, 86-33 — will decide the winner.

Kentucky Completes S&T Strategic Plan

The Kentucky Science and Technology Corp. (KSTC) has released Kentucky's Science and Technology Strategy, a plan outlining ten specific recommendations in four strategic areas to guide the Commonwealth's future R&D investments. If implemented, the recommendations are expected to have significant impact in just a few years.

The four key strategic areas include enterprise development, manufacturing modernization, technological infrastructure, and people. The recommendations and their estimated annual costs are listed below. Most will require passage of new legislation by the Kentucky General Assembly in their next session.

The recommendations are: