Minnesota Legislature Creates New Office of Science and Technology to Assist Entrepreneurs

In support of Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s Strategic Entrepreneurial Economic Development (SEED) initiative, legislators established the Office of Science and Technology to help small businesses and entrepreneurs access federal grant programs for technology development, according to the governor’s press office.

The Department of Employment and Economic Development will receive $400,000 for the effort in fiscal year 2009 to coordinate workshops and provide assistance with business proposals and to develop a program to assist small businesses competing for a Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer award by matching the applicant with a larger company.

The new Office of Technology Commercialization was the only proposal from the governor’s SEED initiative outlined in the FY09 supplemental budget recommendation to survive the legislative session. Instead of funding the governor’s proposals, including the creation of a new Office of Entrepreneurship and funding for the Job Skills Partnership to upgrade employee skills (see the March 19, 2008 issue of the Digest http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2008/031908.htm#Minnesota ), legislators approved the following:

* $9 million for bioscience business development infrastructure;

* $7.8 million for the Redevelopment Grant Program, which provides assistance in redeveloping commercial, industrial and residential sites; and,

* $7 million for Greater Minnesota Business Development Infrastructure.

A bill to create a High-Speed Broadband Task Force to identify areas in the state that lack infrastructure to support broadband service also was passed by the legislature. The task force is charged with developing a comprehensive plan to achieve a statewide high-speed broadband goal, according to the governor’s office.

Gov. Pawlenty vetoed a bill last week authorizing the University of Minnesota to spend state-appropriated funds on stem cell research. Although no funds were set aside in the legislation, passage of the bill would have established a state policy to permit research involving embryonic stem cells. In his veto message, the governor expressed moral and ethical concern regarding destruction of live embryos and, instead, voiced his support of research involving adult stem cells.

Lawmakers authorized legislation to create the Minnesota Biomedical Sciences Research Facilities Program and approved bonding authority of $233 million over six years for the University of Minnesota to build four new research buildings. Overall, universities and state colleges face $21 million in combined cuts for the upcoming fiscal year. In his supplemental budget recommendation, Gov. Pawlenty proposed a reduction of 3.85 percent each year in general fund to help close the budget gap.

Gov. Pawlenty’s K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics proposals, including the creation of math and science teacher academies, were not funded in the approved FY09 budget.

Legislators concurred with Gov. Pawlenty’s recommendation to remove the one-time appropriation of $2.6 million for renewable hydrogen initiative grants and also reduced by $1.25 million an appropriation for E-85 pump installation cost-share grants. The FY 2007-09 supplemental budget bill awaits action from Gov. Pawlenty.

The conference committee report on the approved FY 2007-09 supplemental budget, H.F. 1812, is available at: http://www.leg.state.mn.us/

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