SSTI Digest

The state budget process is winding down across the country and SSTI continues to review the final budgets for funding for innovation-based programs. This week, we found level funding for South Carolina programs including MEP and regional-based economic development efforts, while university programs in Texas are taking a hit, and in West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice refused to sign the state budget although he will allow the legislatively approved measure to become law. Unless otherwise noted, the figures below represent level funding from the previous budgets.

South Carolina

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed the state’s 2018 budget (HB 3720) that would support several tech-based economic development programs that are funded through the Department of Commerce including:

Proposed under previous South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the state’s FY 2017-2018 budget request calls for approximately $3.5 billion to be spent on K-12 and higher education funding including:

• $5 million for industry certifications and credentials;
• $2 million in funding for modernization of the state’s careers centers through the Career and Technology Education (CATE) programs; and,
• $500,000 in funding for highly qualified professionals to leave their occupations to enter a new career teaching at CATE centers – each participant would receive an annual $5,000 scholarship for up to 10 years.

The budget also proposed funding to support endowed chairs at institutions of higher education, the MEP center, the SBDCs, and the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness.

More governors delivered their state of the state addresses and this week we bring you TBED news from governors around the country. Areas of focus include tech infrastructure needs, diversifying economies, cybersecurity and education. While some governors are giving their inaugural addresses, Gov. Nikki Haley used her time to bid farewell. Following are excerpts from the past week’s addresses.

Over the last several months, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced millions of dollars in grants to support tech-based economic development efforts in communities across the country (see recent Digest articles from August 18 and September 8). The most recent announcements of grant funding will provide targeted funding to expand and build facilities that support entrepreneurial/business development in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming as well as workforce efforts in South Carolina. Each of the grants also addresses a specific regional need or key industries including growth in advanced manufacturing sectors, attraction of foreign direct investment, and support for key regional tech-focused industries such as agriculture and healthcare.

Oklahoma

To build 21^st century workforces in key S&T sectors, several new public-private initiatives have been launched in South Carolina, New Jersey, Utah, and Montana. These initiatives are intended to better align the educational training of students with the needs of industries that each respective state has identified as a key industry cluster. Target industries include advanced manufacturing, aerospace, biotechnology, chemistry and plastics, and cyber security.

South Carolina

Many governors around the country have begun laying out priorities for the next legislative session. In the coming weeks, SSTI will review gubernatorial addresses and budget proposals related to economic development. This week, we highlight developments in Arizona, Maryland, Missouri and South Carolina.

Now that many governors have signed spending bills and legislative sessions are drawing to a close, the SSTI Digest will check on the status of proposals related to the innovation economy, and examine the state of technology-based economic development funding in the states. This week, we review spending bills in Alaska, Connecticut, Louisiana, South Carolina and Vermont.

Alaska
On June 30, following a second special legislative session, Gov. Bill Walker signed a $9.8 billion (HB 2001) FY16 budget. The governor, however, vetoed $200 million in tax credits, which will delay payment to the state's oil and gas companies.

The budget allocates $5.2 million for Community and Regional Affairs and $1.6 million for Economic Development. The campuses of the University of Alaska are slated to receive $247.5 million, with $785,900 for its Small Business Development Center.

SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series has returned as governors across the country formally convene the 2015 legislative sessions. The series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from governors' State of the State, Budget and Inaugural addresses.

The third installment of this year’s series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Delaware, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and South Carolina. Read the first and second installments of this year’s series.

As governors around the country begin their newest terms, their proposed budgets are beginning to take shape. Although few governors specifically target technology based economic development, after the first wave of budgets a variety of initiatives related to workforce development and higher education have garnered support.

SSTI Excellence in TBED award winners produce real results that are changing the landscape of their communities, expanding infrastructure to grow high-tech sectors and improving the competitiveness of their regions. Their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed in the broader innovation community. Over the past couple of months, award winners have grabbed headlines – and funding – for their impressive work. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker stopped by Clemson University’s Center for Automotive Research to tout its success in workforce development. In St. Louis, Monsanto recently awarded $2.5 million to BioSTL to support bioscience startups and, in Arizona, a $1 million grant will help fund ASU accelerator programs.

Help us spread the news about the program! SSTI’s open call for applications for the 2014 Excellence in TBED awards is April 16.

Several bills aimed at supporting startups, advancing research and improving the workforce have been introduced with the start of the 2014 sessions. Some of the proposed legislation offers a glimpse into the investment priorities of governors and lawmakers in the wake of economic recovery. Providing innovative companies with access to startup funds is a continued theme from previous years. Some states are seeking to expand tax credits for angel investors or offer new tax credits to encourage emerging industries. Other bills focus on generating more skilled workers quickly and positioning universities to enhance regional economic competitiveness.

Bill Kirkland will head the new Office of Economic Engagement that will begin operations July 1 at the University of South Carolina. The new entity will facilitate business development statewide, and work through USC&'s seven regional campuses.

John Carey, a former state representative, was appointed by Gov. John Kasich as the chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.

Nancy Bryan will be welcomed as the new president & CEO of BioFlorida at their 10th Annual Celebration of Biotechnology on May 9.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean has created a new Office of Innovation to make government services more efficient and transparent, and to help with economic development. The city has hired Kristine LaLonde and Yiaway Yeh as co-chief innovation officers.