State S&T Round Up

Arizona 

The Ways & Means Committee of the Arizona House of Representatives has passed a bill to eliminate $250 million in sales tax exemptions for a number of products and services, including telecommunications equipment and solar devices. If the bill passes, proceeds would be used to raise teachers' salaries. 

Also in Arizona, the Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council, a subpart of the Governor's Strategic Partnership for Economic Development (GSPED) issued The Multitenant Building Telecommunications Assessment Study, which makes recommendations to the Arizona government to deal with telecommunications issues in multitenant buildings. Actions suggested include: regulations to prohibit exclusive multitenant facility access agreements by building managers and owners with single or selected telecommunication providers; regulations to better define the Point-of-Demarcation (POD) and ownership of internal wiring to help avoid disputes and litigation among stakeholders; and act to incorporate wireless telecommunications providers into the Arizona Universal Service Fund (USF) program to encourage wireless deployment in Arizona's underserved rural and tribal areas. The study can be found at: http://www.researchedge.com/MBTAS/  



Colorado 

This month, Governor Bill Owens announced the formation of the Colorado Institute of Technology (CIT), a new research and education institution intended to partner the state's technology business community with the higher education system. Founding CIT industrial partners Qwest, Sun Microsystems, Hitachi Data Systems, Level 3 Communications and USWest have committed $41 million toward the Institute's endowment and operating funds. The state would like to see CIT reach a funding level of $250 million over several years. Marc Holtzman, Colorado Secretary of Technology, will chair the CIT board of directors. 

Delaware 

To increase the number of technically trained workers in the state, HB 92 has been introduced to provide free tuition at Delaware Technology & Community College for any Delaware high school student who maintains an 85 percent average during their high school years. Estimates are the program would cost $500,000 by the third year of implementation. A similar effort languished in the state's General Assembly last year. 

Georgia 

A resolution has been introduced in the state legislature to establish an 11-member Joint Task Force on Technology Disparities in Telecommunications. SR 626 would require the task force to the task force to develop recommendations to ensure that telecommunications industry decisions on the distribution and availability of telecommunications technologies and services are determined by fair and appropriate criteria concerning the needs, expectations, and economic or sociologic condition of certain communities and regional centers. 

Nebraska 

A bill to grant tax breaks to selected businesses that locate or expand in rural Nebraska and pay higher-than-average wages, including R&D firms, has passed the Revenue Committee of the state legislature. The bill, LB936, is estimated to cost the state $17 million in tax revenues over ten years, while creating 380 new jobs. The bill is supported by Governor Mike Johanns.