Texas Gov. Requests $300M for New TBED Effort

Gov. Rick Perry is asking the Texas Legislature to appropriate $300 million for a new program designed to foster emerging technologies, enhance university-industry collaboration, and promote technology commercialization. If approved, the multi-faceted effort would be the most aggressive tech-based economic development initiative in the state's history.

"Texas must now take the next step of investing more in emerging fields of technology in order to remain competitive in the evolving world economy," said Gov. Perry.

The proposed Texas Emerging Technology Fund, if funded, would focus on research and job creation in high-tech industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, biotechnology, nanotechnology, environmental sciences and advanced energy. Most of the funds would benefit Texas colleges and universities and would be divided into three components, which include:

• $150 million to create Regional Centers of Innovation and Commercialization through collaborative efforts between institutions of higher education and the private sector. These centers are intended to become "hotbeds" of research and development activities, incubators for start-up firms, lure existing companies to commercialize their developments and provide workforce training.
• $75 million to match research grants awarded by federal or private sponsors in order to help researchers better compete for out-of-state dollars. Projects would be focused on collaborations with Texas colleges and universities that have a high likelihood of leading to scientific breakthroughs.
• $75 million to help public universities attract and retain renowned research teams, or "stars" from other universities.

The idea for the fund stems from the Governor's Council on Science and Biotechnology Development, which was charged in 2002 with recommending a course of action for emerging science and technology fields.

In addition to his request for funding to support the Emerging Technology Fund, Gov. Perry also asked the legislature to approve an additional $300 million to replenish and enlarge the Texas Enterprise Fund. Created in 2003 with an $295 million appropriation from the state's rainy day fund, the Enterprise Fund is used at the governor's discretion to lure jobs to the state. To date, $180 million of the incentive/inducement account has been allocated to various projects, leaving a balance of $115 million prior to any new appropriations.

More information is available from the governor's website at: http://www.governor.state.tx.us/