On June 24 from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in Washington, DC, SSTI is co-hosting a meeting with officials from the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) that we encourage you or one of your colleagues to attend. TIP and MEP are two of the most market-driven programs operated by the federal government. Both programs have launched new investments and innovative services in the last year. The meeting will give you a chance to learn about:

Earlier this year, Congress and President Obama, seeing an opportunity to stimulate the economy while improving the nation's digital infrastructure, set aside $7.2 billion for broadband programs in the 2009 Recovery Act (read SSTI's analysis of the Recovery Act in the February 19 issue). Citing the need for a modernized digital infrastructure to ensure U.S. competitiveness, the act included funding for broadband mapping and deployment to help make sure that all Americans have access to high-speed Internet services. A controversy, however, has grown in the wake of the Recovery Act over how that money should be spent.

Seven emerging research universities in Texas would receive funding and incentives to help advance their status to nationally-recognized tier one schools following passage of HB 51, awaiting Gov. Rick Perry's signature.

During the last week of the legislative session, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman signed two bills into law - one dealing with R&D tax credits and the other authorizing the development of a statewide biotechnology strategic plan. The biotech plan, as outlined in LB 246, calls for the creation of a nonprofit corporation to provide research assistance and recommendations to the Legislature's Natural Resources Committee by June 30 of next year. A finalized plan must then be presented by the committee to the Legislature.

As the Nevada Legislature concluded its biennial session last week, Gov. Jim Gibbons signed several bills relating to renewable energy. In particular, SB 358 creates the position of Nevada Energy Commissionerwith responsibilities - among other duties - to review policies related to the R&D of geothermal energy in Nevada and to work with renewable energy developers in identifying suitable sites for their needs. As the Associated Press reported in their coverage of the bill's passage, the process of attaining land in Nevada is sometimes a cumbersome process because 86 percent of the state is controlled by the federal government.

Over the past few decades, state and local policymakers have approached the task of increasing regional innovative activity from a number of directions. Leaders have deployed plans to increase the amount of available capital, to train entrepreneurs, to attract research-based companies and other strategies to create a thriving innovation economy. A key issue in this pursuit is how to keep the beneficial results of these efforts local. Investing in commercializing new technologies at a local university can lead to new companies that then leave the region, undermining the local effort to support and keep those new firms.

Last week the Bureau of Economic Analysis released advance 2008 and revised 2005-2007 statistics concerning GDP by state. Using these updated statistics, SSTI has prepared a table showing the real GDP for each state from 2004 to 2008 (in chained 2000 dollars), the percent change from 2007 to 2008, the five-year percent change, and the rank of each state's five-year change.

SSTI has an effective new learning tool for TBED policymakers and practitioners seeking guidance in approaches to building and sustaining tech-based economies. Through exclusive interviews with Excellence in TBED Award recipients, find out first-hand how these award winning initiatives successfully responded to a critical need by applying innovative approaches to generate substantial economic gains for their region.

Compiling SBIR Phase I award and proposal statistics by state for fiscal year 2008, SSTI finds the 10 states with the most awards in FY 2008 were California (688), Massachusetts (476), Virginia (224), New York (195), Colorado (182), Maryland (156), Texas (140), Pennsylvania (129), Ohio (120) and Florida (102). Compared to the top states for FY07, New York moved into the fourth position from sixth place last year and Pennsylvania had slightly more awards than Ohio, moving Pennsylvania up one position from last year and pushing Ohio down to ninth.

J. Mike Books is leaving his post with the Indiana Health Industry Forum to become the first economic development director for the city of Columbia, Missouri. He also will serve as president of the Regional Economic Development Inc. Brooks will assume his new responsibilities on July 15.

With less money to spend on risky endeavors, many states are taking more targeted approaches toward economic development, seeking out sectors of the economy they consider most likely to grow and be sustainable beyond current conditions. In Hawaii, for example, lawmakers established an Aerospace Advisory Committee this session seeking long-term growth in aerospace-related industries. Missouri legislators, meanwhile, passed an "emergency jobs bill" expanding tax credits for technology business projects, and North Dakota lawmakers increased funding for agricultural research and infrastructure. The following overview provides highlights of approved budgets and legislation from the 2009 sessions in Hawaii, Missouri and North Dakota.

In a special session on Tuesday, the Vermont Legislature enacted the state's FY10 budget, overriding last week's veto by Governor Jim Douglas. The budget eliminates or reduces funding for many programs related to economic development and TBED, cutbacks which were cited as concerns by Gov. Douglas in his veto announcement.

Can you afford to miss out on valuable publicity for your organization's outstanding accomplishments, particularly as legislators look for places to cut spending?

Gov. Charlie Crist signed Florida's $66.5 billion 2009-10 budget into law last week, providing a mixed bag of funding outcomes for the state's existing economic development programs.

The Angel Capital Association's (ACA) latest report on angel group confidence finds little consensus about the state of the industry. While 40 percent believe that their total number of investments and their total investment dollars will decrease in 2009, 30.7 percent believe that their portfolio will increase, 23.1 percent believe it will stay the same.