SSTI Digest

Facing a $2.3 billion deficit in FY 2010, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has proposed a new financing program to promote small business growth through the current financial crisis. Calling it an Economic Stimulus Plan, the governors.'s proposal will target small Florida-based companies with high-growth potential through direct loans and other support services. By focusing on small businesses, the state can target companies with good prospects for growth with a modest investment of taxpayer dollars, according to the press release accompanying the announcement. The price tag? Only $10 million.

The outcome of Tuesday's election resulted in several wins and some defeats for TBED among the more than 150 ballot measures presented to voters across the nation. Outlined below are the unofficial election results of select ballot measures from each state's respective election office and local media reports as of Wednesday, Nov. 5. More detailed information on the measures is provided in last week's issue of the Digest, which is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2008/102908.htm#election.

Arkansas
Voters approved 63 percent to 37 percent a constitutional amendment authorizing the General Assembly to establish, operate and regulate state lotteries to fund scholarships and grants for residents enrolled in two- and four-year colleges and universities in the state. Voters also approved a measure to shift the state's budgeting from a two-year cycle to an annual cycle.

While the Presidential election takes center stage on November 4, voters in several states also will cast their votes on statewide ballot issues affecting the TBED community. In addition to the 11 gubernatorial races and more than 5,800 state legislative seats up for grabs, voters across the nation will consider measures to provide funding for public education, expand investment in alternative and renewable energy, lift restrictions on stem-cell research, and eliminate income tax and state spending caps. Following is a summary of selected ballot issues from across the nation.

Funding Public Education

Florida
Florida voters will be asked to amend the state constitution to require that the legislature authorize counties to levy a local option sales tax to supplement funding for public community colleges. Ballot question 8 requires voter approval to levy the tax.

How should states determine the focus and location of significant investments into academic research? The process can easily become politicized when more than one research institution, sizable metropolitan area or major industry exist in the state. On occasion, geographic and political influences trump more rational factors, resulting in the “peanut butter effect” of dollars and activities being spread evenly across a state or across institutions at the possible detriment to having a meaningful impact.

Though the state of Florida has aggressively pursued research investment over the past few years, particularly in the life science, a new report finds the state is still struggling to build a sufficient pool of highly-skilled workers for its high-tech companies. The study, which was conducted at the behest of 19 local economic development organizations, finds the state has not yet made a complete transition from an agriculture- and real estate-based economy to one built on high-tech industry and innovation. Interviews with statewide stakeholders also confirmed there is a continuing need in the state to support innovations-based entrepreneurs through economic development organizations.

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

CTC Tampa Bay is seeking a venture lab manager to establish and build its Venture Lab program. This postion involves bridging relationships with government, private sector, and university entities in order to support the growth of selected early-stage technology-based companies. The selected companies must offer innovative products and services that can potentially generate significant revenues from the defense/homeland security market and other dual-use markets. A BA/BS degree in science, engineering or business, plus at least 10 years of directly related experience (or an MA/MS degree, plus at least eight years of directly related experience), are required.

Gov. Charlie Crist signed the fiscal year 2008-09 budget into law last week, allocating nearly $79 million for energy-related projects to increase research and stimulate development and commercialization of alternative and renewable energy sources throughout Florida.
 
The Energy Diversity Package approved by lawmakers is significantly different from the $200 million proposal outlined by Gov. Crist earlier this year, with only a few of the original proposals left intact (see the Feb. 6, 2008 issue of the Digest). However, the appropriation is welcome news for the state’s technology-based economic development strategy, as Florida is one of many states facing a decline in revenue. Last week, Gov. Crist ordered all state agencies to reduce spending by 4 percent in the coming fiscal year.
 
Lawmakers appropriated funding for the following projects under the Energy Diversity Package:

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist paid a visit to Wall Street last week to celebrate the signing of a new law that will increase the state retirement fund's investment in high-tech industries. Under the new legislation, the Florida State Retirement System will dedicate up to 1.5 percent of the system's trust fund to technology and growth investments. The Miami Herald estimates that this could provide nearly $2 billion for high-tech industries in the state.
 
The new legislation also will double the number the number of non-pension state dollars that may be used for alternative investments in venture capital firms, hedge funds and direct investments in portfolio companies. This will make $18.4 billion available for initiatives like the Florida Opportunity Fund, which was approved last year.
 

Since the inception of the HOPE scholarship program in Georgia 15 years ago, the number of state-sponsored merit-based scholarship initiatives to increase the number of students attending in-state colleges and universities has increased throughout the country. One such statewide initiative, Florida’s Bright Futures Program, was established in 1997 and has since become the second largest merit-based scholarship program in the U.S. At the recent annual forum of the Association of Institutional Research held in Seattle, Dr. Shouping Hu of Florida State University presented a paper examining the possible unintended consequences for student bachelor degree enrollment in the STEM fields before and after the implementation of Florida’s program.
 

Offering customized workspace such as wet laboratories and specialized research equipment is one of the many benefits provided by technology-focused incubators. Access to university research, business mentoring and administrative support services often accompany the reduced rent facilities with the goal of growing technology companies into successful, self-sustaining enterprises. Following are select announcements of recently launched incubators and partnerships from across the nation. 
 
GateWay Community College recently received a recommendation from the Phoenix Parks, Education, Bioscience and Sustainability subcommittee of the Phoenix City Council to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the college to build a bioscience incubator laboratory with wet lab space, the Arizona Republic reports. The wet lab would be a minimum of 5,000 sq. ft. and located near the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.
 

Beginning in 2003 with its $510 million investment to lure the Scripps Research Institute (see the Oct. 31, 2003, issue of the Digest), the state of Florida has drawn national attention over the past few years for its aggressive pursuit of major life science research institutions. This year, however, it looks like that strategy will have to be put on a temporary hiatus.
 
After extended debate about broadening the sectors that benefit from the Innovation Incentive Fund (IIF) – the source of money used to bankroll the post-Scripps package of incentives available to these institutions – the Florida legislature has decided not to replenish the fund altogether. Though funding may resume in future years, the fund is currently depleted and state leaders are considering reprioritizing their economic development initiatives in light of changing economic conditions.
 

The end of the space shuttle program in 2010 has many state and local governments uncertain about the future of the aerospace industry. A recent NASA report estimated that as many as 10,000 contractor jobs could be lost at spaceflight centers across the country by the time the program ceases operation. Florida's John F. Kennedy Space Center would be the hardest hit, with as many as 80 percent of its current workforce lost in the next 2-3 years. To prepare for that loss, the state has begun a campaign to reorient its aerospace industry by supporting companies focused on the next generation of spaceflight technologies. This will include leveraging Florida's significant presence in life sciences research to support the development of technologies that will be particularly vital with the rise of private, manned space launches and space tourism.