Tech Talkin’ Governors Part III-Building tech-based economies remains a high priority for many Governors

New and re-elected Governors gave inaugural addresses in Alabama, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas during the past 10 days. Additionally, State of the State addresses were made in Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah. Building tech-based economies remains a high priority for many Governors, as evidenced in the following:

Nevada
Governor Kenny Guinn, State of the State Address, January 20, 2003 http://gov.state.nv.us/sos2003.htm

"I want to see higher education in Nevada become a center for research and new partnerships between business and academia. A key step to enhance higher education and economic development will be the new Science, Engineering and Technology Center at UNLV. This project will be funded with $47 million in public dollars, and $25 million in private funds; this is truly a wonderful partnership. This project includes the short-term benefit of new construction jobs, and the long-term benefit of an expanded academic facility in science, engineering and technology: the wave of the future."

New Mexico
Governor Bill Richardson, State of the State Address, January 21, 2003 http://www1.stateline.org/story.do?storyId=283573

"I want incentives for startup technology companies, renewable energy companies…

"We must make the state of New Mexico a hospitable place for entrepreneurs to start and grow their business ideas. Whether from outside or from homegrown visionaries, ground-up business development must be encouraged and nurtured by state policy…

"We need to strengthen the teaching of business and entrepreneurial skills in our schools. Our young people must be taught the basics of business risk and reward so that more of them will take to improving their lives and building the economy of our state from within. Small business incubator programs in the population centers of the state must be strengthened and improved.

"Access to capital is critical, and because we lie so far from the money centers of the coasts, we remain below the radar of much of the venture capital market. The Legislature invested $10 million in the New Mexico Small Business Investment Corp., but the money has languished in a bank account for lack of an implementation strategy.

"I will build that implementation strategy. I further propose that we invest up to $200 million – just 2 percent of the total in the state’s permanent funds – in New Mexico businesses. This will jump-start an entrepreneurial arm of New Mexico’s economy…We will partner with private capital…

"To facilitate all these ambitious development goals, I ask the Legislature for seed money… $9 million in a one-shot expenditure to complete the funding of endowed chairs in business and technology research at the University of New Mexico, New Mexico Tech and New Mexico State University…

"Even as we are rich in hydrocarbons beneath the surface, we are rich in wind, solar, geothermal and biomass energy potential across our landscape. I have set a goal of having 10 percent of New Mexico’s energy come from renewable sources by 2010."

Ohio
Governor Bob Taft, State of the State Address, January 22, 2003
http://www.state.oh.us/gov/releases/012203sosaddress.htm

"My budget provides over $40 million for Third Frontier programs in the next two years…I ask the General Assembly to quickly pass our proposal to place a 10-year, $500 million bond issue on November’s ballot. This money, if approved by the voters, will allow us to recruit scholars in fields that are vital to our economy, attract more research dollars, and move new ideas from the laboratory into the marketplace… The Third Frontier Project is not a luxury, even in our most difficult budget hour. We must make this investment today to make Ohio better tomorrow. "

South Dakota
Governor Mike Rounds, State of the State Address, January 14, 2003 http://www.state.sd.us/governor/sos2003.htm

"There will also be a new Department of Tourism and State Development. It will combine Tourism
and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development…

"When it comes to economic development, we should not forget about new industries as well. Wind power—some states have already begun to develop. In South Dakota we’ve done some, not enough. I believe that long-term, wind power has huge opportunities within our state. We need to jump-start it…

"I want to entice our college graduates to stay here. And I believe that we can do that by offering what I call a Dakota Core Scholarship Program. I want for young people who agree to come to South Dakota and serve as public servants in areas that we have a tough time filling positions — teachers, engineers, perhaps nurses. For those individuals, I would like to offer a tuition-free education at a public or private school within our state. And if they stay here for a period of 5 years thereafter, we will forgive one-fifth of that amount each year over that 5-year period of time…

"I would ask for your thoughts and participation in working with myself and the Board of Regents on the issue of intellectual property. I want to make sure that our rules are competitive so that our people see the opportunity to improve themselves and are encouraged to develop new ideas. We can make a win, win, win situation. Professors can get rewards for advancements that have commercial applications, students will be more motivated by being involved in cutting-edge ideas, and there is the possibility of high quality, good paying jobs being created. To that end, I will work with any community that has a university attached to it, and incubator settings in which we develop new programs whether they be ag related, or technology created, or business related in which the local communities participate with our local institutions of higher education, we as state government should also participate, and I’ll look forward to working with them to set up these incubator positions where individuals who work as professors within our universities can come and make an offer or an idea and find it put into a business setting.

"In addition to that, I want to also push the issue of business internships in South Dakota…We’re going to start an internship program here in conjunction with the Board of Regents, expand those programs that are already out there, and, in working with private businesses, we’re going to keep our kids in South Dakota."

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2003. Information in this issue of SSTI Weekly Digest was prepared under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration. Redistribution to all others interested in tech-based economic development is strongly encouraged — please cite the State Science & Technology Institute whenever portions are reproduced or redirected. Any opinions expressed in the Digest do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Commerce.