UTAH

The company plans to hire 375 new employees at 225 percent of the Salt Lake county median wage, which is $32,828.

Given the significant expansion Utah’s business base has experienced in recent years, a fair question to ask is what has the state done to attract all these companies?

"This Executive Order raises the bar in the hiring practices of state government and will lead the way as a model in hiring qualified people with disabilities."

"The clearest and cleanest way, and what at least a couple of other states are doing, is they’ve converted this to a tax credit scenario so that you very clearly audit the performance measures over the year. They tell you how many jobs they’ve created, what the new state revenue was."

A state board put out Tuesday a potential $85 million tax-rebate incentive to try to land a 1,000-employee Procter & Gamble Co. manufacturing plant in unincorporated Box Elder County.

The UEC will establish a statewide entrepreneurial outreach program at seven colleges and universities throughout the State of Utah. This outreach program will allow students to participate in local business plan competitions.

Growth pressures Utah faces include traffic congestion, an underfunded public education system and affordable housing, the lieutenant governor said. The state is working to address each, but encourages help from the private sector to accomplish long-term goals.

For its part, the university receives licensing royalties, which in 2006 totaled $17.5 million.

“Were it not for their capital contributions and guidance, many Utah entrepreneurial companies would not have the opportunity to create so many high-quality jobs.”

In venture lending, the financing institution provides debt capital sometimes accompanied by relatively small warrants (options to purchase equity) rather than the straight equity ownership characteristic of traditional venture capital.