More than $800 million for science, engineering, research, and commercialization activities
Each year a few state legislatures are more active than others on issues affecting efforts to grow tech-based economies. With $385 million for research infrastructure, $45 million committed to commercialization and seed financing, nearly $150 million for university and life science research, more than $300 million for college scholarships, authorization to create university commercialization centers, a series of tax credits, and $20 million for a biotech park, the recently concluded 77th legislative session in Texas was one of the busiest and most aggressive proponents nationally for technology-based economic development (TBED).
By addressing multiple tech-related initiatives proposed by Governor Rick Perry in his State of the State message, as well as many of its members' own creation, this Texas legislature was the most supportive of science, research and tech-based economic development in recent years for the state.
Sorting through the dozens of TBED bills for all new programs and hundreds of millions of dollars to be invested is a formidable task. Liza Porteus of the National Journal’s Technology Daily reported on more than a dozen information technology and telecommunications-related bills in her June 7 column. Additional highlights pulled from 20 more bills include:
Science, Technology Research Infrastructure
House Bill (HB) 653, the capital appropriations bill for the 2002-2003 biennium, includes nearly $385 million for construction, laboratory expansion, and equipment acquisition for a statewide network of research, science and engineering facilities in the state’s universities and colleges. Seven new or expanded health science research centers, 11 renovated or new buildings dedicated to other sciences, five engineering and industrial technology facilities are financed through the bill. A breakdown of the science and tech-related items identified in HB 653 is available online at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/061501t3.htm