SSTI Digest

Avoiding redundancy and enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of outdated programs are some of the major goals for governors in California and North Carolina seeking a new approach to job creation. Both proposals involve an overhaul to established economic development efforts.

As part of his May revision to the FY14 budget, California Gov. Jerry Brown proposed redirecting $750 million annually from the state's decades-old Enterprise Zone program to establish three new tax incentive programs to be administered by the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development:

Since 2011, three states (Kansas, Georgia and North Carolina) have enacted securities exemptions that allow their state's entrepreneurs and small businesses to raise up to $1 million dollars via the sale of securities to residents of the state — Washington lawmakers introduced similar legislation in 2013 session where it is still pending. These exemptions, commonly referred to as crowdfunding exemptions, are intended to increase the pool of investors for small businesses by allowing them to publicly offer securities without having to spend the significant time and cost associated with registering a sale of securities with the state

The enacted exemptions from Kansas, Georgia and North Carolina as well as the proposed legislation in Washington share several similarities including:

Amid a national economic recovery, city officials report a recent and persistent skills gap that may signal structural challenges and present serious barriers to sustained growth for metros. Nearly nine in 10 city officials (88 percent) note that workforce alignment has not improved over the past year, according to a recent survey on city fiscal conditions from the National League of Cities (NLC). Meanwhile, new business growth, as represented by indicators of entrepreneurial activity and new business permits, is showing signs of improvement.

Unlike most other economic indicators, city officials report that workforce skills are not keeping pace with employer demand and more than half of city officials (53 percent) say that current local workforce skills are posing a problem for the economic health of their communities. Moreover, 82 percent of city officials responded that the percentage of the population with a post-secondary degree has not increased over the past year.

Commissioned by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, a study found North Carolina's biotech industry employees almost 58,000 residents at an average annual wage of $78,000. From 2001 to 2010, employment in the state's biotech industry grew by 23.5 percent (approximately 12,000 new jobs) — 3.5 times faster than the national biotech workforce. In comparison, North Carolina's private-sector workforce declined by 2.8 percent in the same period. The report also compares the North Carolina biotechnology industry in comparison to several other leading biotech states including Texas, Florida, California and Maryland. Read the report...

The sixth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in New Hampshire and North Carolina. Our first five installments were in the Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 23, Jan. 30 and Feb. 6 issues of the Digest.

New Hampshire
Gov. Maggie Hassan, Budget Address, Feb. 14, 2013
"The drastic cuts made to higher education in the last budget have hurt our ability to train a highly skilled workforce and to give our people the bright future they deserve. ...

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is pushing for state funding of higher education to be based on the success that community colleges and universities have at placing their students in the job market. “I don't want to subsidize (a course) if that's not going to get someone a job ... it's the tech jobs we need right now,” stated McCrory on the nationally syndicated “Morning In America” radio broadcast. North Carolina was recently recognized by the Brookings Institution and The Atlantic for its SuccessNCInitiative that establishes curriculum-based college and career pathways for the state's community college system. The initiative was put in place to support the state's goal of doubling the number of students completing career credentials by 2020.

Innovation was a key term used in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address and is referenced heavily throughout his economic development agenda for the upcoming year. The governor proposed creating innovation hot spots, an innovation network and innovation venture capital fund. Efforts would be focused on accelerating technology transfer and providing funds to attract startup companies. Cleantech investments and support for competitive university-based projects that emphasize economic impact also are a priority for the governor.

Titled “NY Rising,” Gov. Cuomo's 326-page accompanying agenda to the annual speech outlines proposals that cover a wide range of issues, from raising the minimum wage and decriminalizing marijuana possession to equality issues for women and gun policy. However, a key component to the plan is building on the work of the regional economic development councils established in 2011 and strengthening partnerships with higher education to continue growing the state's tech-based sector.

Former Oklahoma Treasurer Scott Meacham has been named president and CEO of i2E.

LaunchTN announced Charlie Brock as the organization's new president and chief executive officer and Stuart McWhorter as the organization's new vice-chair.

BioCrossroads President and CEO David Johnson was named President and CEO of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, while continuing to lead BioCrossroads, CICP's life sciences initiative, along with his new duties at CICP. David Johnson succeeds Mark Miles.

Dan Sharp has been named director of UT Austin's Office of Technology Commercialization. Sharp, who holds both law and engineering degrees from UT, formerly was associate director of intellectual property and licensing at the office.

On November 6, in addition to the presidential election, eleven state and two territorial gubernatorial contests will be decided. Seven of these races (Delaware, Missouri, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia) include a sitting governor running for re-election, while the remaining six (American Samoa, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Washington) are open races.

Of the races involving incumbents, four are a Democratic governors being challenged, while three sitting Republican governors are up for re-election — two of them for a full term after completing the terms of the previous governors who left for other positions.

Five of the open races are a contest for a seat being vacated by a Democrat, while only one is currently held by a Republican.

SSTI took a look at the TBED platforms of the candidates for governor.

Delaware

The Department of Commerce announced the winners of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) Challenge, the Economic Development Administration-led competition seeking to help cities and regions develop a comprehensive economic development strategy. Greensboro, North Carolina, Hartford, Connecticut, and Las Vegas, Nevada each were awarded $1 million to assist in the refinement and implementation of their respective plans. This year's competition follows on the success of a 2011 pilot program, which made awards to six cities, and a Presidential Executive Order signed in March establishing the White House Council on Strong Cites, Strong Communities.

The North Carolina Innovation Fund has announced plans to support a new accelerator that would promote life science technology transfer from the state's universities. Published reports indicate that the accelerator would launch later this month and focus on companies developing biopharmaceutical therapeutics, diagnostics and medical devices. Participating startups could receive capital investment from the accelerator's associated funds. Learn more...

Innovation Works president and CEO Richard Lunak and entrepreneur and writer Sean Ammirati will explore the rapid rise of business accelerators at SSTI's 15th Annual Conference. Join us in Columbus on Nov. 8-9, 2011 to learn more about the accelerator model and hear some lessons learned from Pittsburgh's successful AlphaLab accelerator. Register today!

Lawmakers in several states wrapped up their 2011 sessions in time for the new fiscal year, which begins on July 1 for most states, allocating funds and passing bills in support of tech-based economic development. Read more...

Delaware lawmakers established a new Job Creation Tax Credit and extended the scope to include clean energy technologies. Read more...

Maine Gov. Paul LePage signed a bill expanding the state's Seed Capital Tax Credit. Read more...