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Virginia lawmakers passed a bill last month supporting the state's bioscience industry and providing incentives to investors for bioscience and advanced technology commercialization. The legislation comprised all of the top recommendations from the 2008 Joint Legislative Subcommittee on the Biosciences.

In support of Gov. Bill Richardson's proposal to develop a workforce trained for 21st century jobs, the New Mexico State Legislature passed two bills this session allocating funds and creating training programs for green jobs. Lawmakers also supported a technology transfer initiative and several measures aimed at growing the state's solar industry.

With its most recent release of academic research and development expenditures, the NSF has provided insight into the portion of funding that originates from private companies.

Congress has been debating the need to revise U.S. patent law for years, and, while the debate certainly is not over, a significant hurdle was passed last week when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 15-4 to move S.515, as amended, for full Senate consideration. 

Venture capitalists increasingly turn their attention to investment opportunities outside of the U.S., according to several recent industry reports. Though the U.S. continues to dominate the global venture industry, the current economic crisis has negatively affected national fundraising, investment and exits. At the same time, venture investment outside the U.S. reached a record $13.8 billion in 2008, a five percent increase over the previous year. China, India and Israel in particular have made strides in building thriving VC markets.

Funding for the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology, which administers the state's stem cell research program, would be cut nearly in half under Gov. Jon Corzine's FY10 budget recommendation. The commission is slated to receive $10.4 million, a decrease of $9.9 million from the FY09 adjusted appropriation, to administer grant programs focused on commercializing new technologies, develop early-stage growth companies and business incubators, and enhance New Jersey's stem cell research capability.

The Ohio Department of Development invites bids for two Requests for Proposals (RFP) to provide evaluation services and other forms of technical assistance for the state's fiscal years 2010 and 2011.  Proposals for either opportunity are due by May 29. Specifically, Development is seeking contractors for the following:

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) last week published the final version of its guidelines regarding human stem cell research, in part determining which human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are eligible for research with NIH funding. The final guidelines contain adjustments from the draft version of the guidelines released on April 23 for public comment, from which the NIH received approximately 49,000 statements from advocacy groups, scientists, medical organizations, religious groups, members of Congress, and private citizens.

Three metropolitan areas dominate the U.S. venture capital landscape: San Francisco, Boston and New York. These cities are home to about half of all U.S. venture firms and about half of all U.S. venture-backed companies. Though venture firms have sprung up around the country over the past 25 years, the three cities have maintained, and even expanded, their share of national firms and investment.

SSTI has prepared a table displaying the amount companies spent on R&D in each state from 2003 to 2007, the state's rank in 2007, the percent change over this five-year period, and the rank of that percent change. For the U.S. as a whole, industry-funded R&D was $204 billion in 2003 and rose to $269.3 billion in 2007 - a five-year jump of 32 percent. Note, the amounts in the chart are not indexed to a single year, but reflect values from when the data was released.

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.

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.

The growing need for a skilled workforce in the U.S. has prompted policymakers, educators and industry leaders alike to explore a wide range of options for ensuring a pipeline of qualified workers with specialized skills to fill both new economy jobs and those that will be vacated by the aging population. Two recent examples include grants awarded to states to help re-train older generation workers for jobs in high-growth industries and legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate to provide resources for high-school students to secure high-wage careers in their regions.

The complete description of this opportunity and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

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.