Last week, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo proposed more than $51 million in investments focused on reinvigorating the state’s economy through innovative industries with the release of her fiscal year 2017 budget request.

On August 10, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed an extensive economic development bill (HB 4569) into law.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence announced plans to invest $1 billion over the next 10 years to advance innovation and entrepreneurship in the state, and to ensure the Hoosier State plays a leading role in solving 21st century challenges, while supporting Indiana’s long-term economic growth, job creation and talent attraction.

Massachusetts legislators are debating the future of Gov. Charlie Baker’s $918 million economic development proposal, including investments in local infrastructure, emerging technologies, community-based innovation, brownfields cleanup, Gateway Cities development and workforce development. The proposal would implement several of the action items from Baker’s economic strategic plan, issued last November, over the next five years.

On August 1, the Massachusetts lawmakers enacted a comprehensive economic development bill (H.4377). The bill currently awaits Gov. Deval Patrick’s approval. Per state law, Gov. Patrick has until August 14 to sign the bill, 10 days after he received it. The approved bill that received unanimous approval by the Massachusetts state Senate was passed as a comprise package between two bills proposed in the Senate and House.

Within the past few months, several indices have been released that attempt to rank states based on their entrepreneurial activity. From the perspective of economic development agencies, these indices are particularly helpful in assessing where each state stands according to the numerous ways to measure entrepreneurship. These indices, however, should be taken with a grain of salt; issues can arise when too much importance is placed on these lists for the sake of competition or the need for press.

To revitalize the U.S. manufacturing base, states and private organizations are turning their attention to support university-led, manufacturing Research and Development (R&D) partnerships that reduce the cost of manufacturing domestically and equip U.S. manufacturers with cutting-edge technologies. Responsive to the needs of industry, these partnerships are intended to not only spur innovation, but also support economic prosperity in regions across the country. The Walmart Foundation and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced new funding for university-led manufacturing partnerships.

The National Governor’s Association (NGA) announced that it will provide grants, technical assistance and opportunities to align education and training systems with private sector needs in 14 states. Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia have been selected to receive support to build industry and education partnerships and optimize their workforce-oriented incentives.

Most R&D expenditures are concentrated across just a handful of states, according to recent NSF data on how research and development is funded in the United States.  In 2011, nearly two-thirds of all research and development expenditures came from private sources. In the wake of the nation’s federal stimulus package that saw an upswing in government spending on research and development, most states are beginning to rely more on innovation that stems from R&D conducted and paid for by private sources rather than the federal government.

The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) announced that it received state-backing for its Cybersecurity Investment Fund (CIF) – a fund that helps companies across the state develop and commercialize new cybersecurity products. TEDCO will make investments of up to $100,000 to help companies achieve early technical milestones that are critical to the commercialization process.

Federal investment in research and development appears to be falling far short of the ambitious goals set by Presidents Bush and Obama in the early part of the century. Though federal R&D spending grew by 22.5 percent from fiscal years 2002 to 2012, commitments declined substantially in 2011-12, following the spike in funding through the Recovery Act. By 2012, R&D expenditures were at their lowest levels since 2004.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced $2.25 billion in economic and community development awards as part of the fifth installment of the state’s Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) Initiative. Of this total, $1.5 billion over the next five years will go to the three regions (Central New York, Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier) that were selected as the winners of the Upstate Revitalization Initiative.

Governors in Massachusetts and Rhode Island have released details about their plans to boost innovative businesses in their respective states. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker offered a strategic plan to guide his administration’s economic development efforts, with an emphasis placed on fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo announced the launch of three new incentive programs aimed at research-driven companies.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed legislation that (SB 632) establishes a new Governor's University Research Initiative and ends the state's Emerging Technology Fund (ETF). Created in 2004, the ETF provided financial support for research partnerships at private companies and state universities through equity investments and grants. The new initiative will not take equity in companies, but instead will focus on university research and commercialization grants.

As part of Nevada’s efforts to better prepare its workers to compete in the state’s technology industries, Gov. Brian Sandoval announced the reestablishment of the state’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology, naming Brian Mitchell its program director.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced the fourth round of regional economic development grants to support tailored approaches to job creation in different areas of the state. The $709.2 million in awards are part of the state’s ongoing Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative begun in 2011. Regional strategies have long been a key component of state development policy, enabling policymakers to encourage institutional partnerships with a focus on the specific needs of local economies.