News

Montana Office of Economic Opportunity Weekly Newsletter

In this Issue…

– Web-based Tools for Local Economic Development

– Cluster Study Update

– Current Status of Economic Development Legislation

– Carbon Sequestration Update

– Closing

Web-based Tools for Local Economic Development

Over the past several weeks, Quinn Ness and Jason Hanson of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity have been touring the state showcasing a set of web-based tools for the local economic developers and the Montana business community.

“Over the past 8 months, we have built an online infrastructure for economic development,” said Hanson. “These web-based tools are a good first step in establishing a professional online presence with regard to economic development in Montana.” The suite of tools include the redesigned business portal, BizMt.com, a searchable properties database for commercial real estate, and Business to Business Montana, a business directory that will give every business in the state an online presence.

Dave Gibson, Montana’s Chief Business Officer described the web-based tools as a critical step in achieving a longer-term vision. “The main focus of the office is to identify strategies to diversify the state’s economy – we have identified those strategies in the Roadmap to a New Economy – and as we move into the implementation phase, our new portal, the searchable properties database and Business to Business Montana are great online assets and integral to the delivery of our plan.”

As Gibson points out, the launch of newly reconstructed BizMt.com is a key short-term deliverable in the implementation of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity’s long-term plans. Included in the website are some interactive tools for local economic developers and the businesses community of the state. The Searchable Properties database will enable local economic developers to promote their available commercial properties to expanding and relocating businesses. Using only a connection to the Internet, a local economic developer in Montana will be able to create economic opportunity by advertising local commercial properties to businesses around the nation and world.

And for existing businesses, Business to Business Montana, a community web portal, will give every business in the State of Montana a web presence and exposure to more potential customers. Business to Business Montana will remove barriers and help Montana businesses showcase their products and services to local customers as well as consumers world wide.

“We are very excited to deliver these tools to the Montana community,” said Hanson. “Our office will continue to explore innovative ways to leverage technology and the Internet to benefit economic development efforts across the state.”

Cluster Study Update

A special thanks to all who have met with Trent Williams and Dr. Stuart Rosenfeld of RTS, Inc. during the weeks of December 13th and January 24th. Dr. Rosenfeld is one of the premier authorities on cluster strategies as is evidenced by his extensive work in the field. Rosenfeld has authored nearly 100 articles and books on the topic and has worked on everything from economic development in the European Union, to stimulating the economy in rural and underdeveloped regions. Because of your assistance, we are on track to have a draft of the study by month’s end and look forward to receiving feedback on the findings and moving into the implementation stage of our Cluster Initiative.

Current Status of Economic Development Legislation

The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity would like to thank everyone for their testimony and support of the following economic development bills that were requested by the Governor:

SB 115 introduced by Senator Dale Mahlum ((R) SD 35), which extends the statutory appropriations to 2010 for vital economic development programs including the Small Business Development Centers, Small Business Innovative Research, Certified Communities, Montana Manufacturing Extension Centers, and export trade enhancement programs. As of February 1, SB 115 is awaiting executive action in the Senate Finance and Claims Committee.

SB 131 introduced by Senator Greg Barkus ((R) SD 39), which allows the Board of Investments to purchase a portion of seasoned loans from local development organization revolving loan funds. On January 28, SB 131 passed the Senate 49 – 1 and has been transmitted to the House of Representatives.

HB 76 introduced by Representative Joe McKenney ((R) HD 49), which establishes Regional Development Corporations, Treasure Communities, and establishes an Economic Development Advisory Council. On February 1, HB 76 passed the House of Representatives 88 – 8 and has been transmitted to the Senate.

*The workforce training bill to fund a new jobs training program by diversion of employee income tax withholding (LC 632) will be scheduled and heard in committee soon. Please contact our office for further information.

Carbon Sequestration Update

Last week, the Joint Subcommittee on Long Range Planning unanimously passed the Carbon Sequestration grant request from the Governor’s Office for $300,000 to the full committee, and moved the request to the number 3 position. The grant will be used to leverage a $2M grant for feasibility studies in the first phase from the federal Department of Energy and later to pursue $7-10M for pilot projects in Montana. The National Lab in Los Alamos, NM and Montana State University will conduct the research in partnership with the ultimate goal of bringing additional dollars to rural communities thru sequestrating carbon in the soil. The project is part of the President’s Initiative under the Global Climate Exchange Program.

For more information on the Carbon Sequestration project, see our archived Newsletter article entitled Creating Economic Opportunity through Conservation.

Closing

For more information, contact the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity at (406) 444 – 5634 or email us. Please visit us on the web at http://www.bizmt.com.

The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity’s mission is to provide a vision and a direction through the development of strategies and initiatives to ensure that the expansion of the state’s economy takes place in an efficient and orderly manner.

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.