Voters in 37 states will decide on more than 170 ballot measures this year, many of which are related to tech-based economic development (TBED). Tax measures seem to be dominating ballots this year, with questions relating to both decreases and increases for sales, property and income taxes. Several states are counting on voters to agree to temporary increases to help fill budget deficits and ensure steady funding for education.

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.

The Obama administration announced winners of the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge on Tuesday. The challenge — publicized earlier this year — is one of the key initiatives of the interagency Taskforce for the Advancement of Regional Innovation Clusters and is sponsored by a partnership between the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Departments of Energy and Labor, and the Small Business Administration.

Caren Franzini, the CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, stepped down after leading the agency for 21 years. Michele Brown, Gov. Chris Christie's appointments counsel, will take over as CEO.

Maria Haley, the executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission passed way Sept. 13 after suffering a brain aneurysm.

The U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration announced Matthew Erskine will join the agency as the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of Commerce for Economic Development and chief operations officer.

Jill Kline has been named the State director of the Wyoming Small Business Development Center.

Daniel Hasler has been named the Indiana Secretary of Commerce, effective Sept. 16. He will replace Mitch Roob who is leaving the post to accept a position in the private sector.

The National Governors Association named David Moore as the director of its NGA Center for Best Practices.

Although official results may not be declared until July, a statewide ballot measure that would raise taxes on tobacco products to fund cancer research was losing by a vote of 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent, according to unofficial results reported Wednesday from the California secretary of state.

Richard Bendis has been named the first president and CEO of BioHealth Innovation, Inc. a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early stage funding in Central Maryland.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced that it will award $74 million total for the creation of four interdisciplinary research and education centers as part of the third generation of NSF Engineering Research Centers. In addition to their primary focus on commercialization and education, these centers will emphasize innovation, entrepreneurship, small business collaboration, and international partnerships. For the first time, two of the ERCs will be co-funded by the Department of Energy.

Spending time at a technology or business incubator may be the key to learning about entrepreneurship. Some universities, seeking to ramp up entrepreneurship programs, are turning to incubators as real-world teachers.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom hopes that by the fall, lawmakers will enact a comprehensive legislative reform of state economic development entities in order to begin implementing a plan for growth and competitiveness that builds on the diverse strengths of California's regional economies. The lieutenant governor last week presented the first statewide economic plan in more than 10 years, outlining steps to develop a new economic model that "embraces the shift from a consumption-based economy to a production economy focused on global trade."

The fifth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Maryland, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. The first four installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19 and Jan. 26 issues of the Digest.

Often credited with contributing significant revenue to states' economies, research parks also house facilities for workforce training and provide resources for tech-based industries, which is especially important as the nation's employment begins to pick up steam. In West Virginia, officials are building a $15 million advanced technology-training center at the state-owned research and technology park, and in Utah, officials recently broke ground on a building that will house engineers and analysts working on the nation's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program.

Sacramento's Green Capital Alliance reports that the six-county region is now home to 13,000 clean technology jobs and 98 clean energy companies. In a five-year progress report on Sacramento's clean energy cluster roadmap, the group document's Sacramento's rise as one of the country's key hubs for clean energy technology development. The report provides a detailed look at the alliance's efforts to leverage regional partners over the past few years and its immediate plans to expand the region's data gathering and smart grid infrastructure.

Building on the state's seven economic clusters identified to grow the economy through targeted investments in emerging industries, Gov. Gary Herbert is asking lawmakers to provide $500,000 in FY12 to plan and identify for additional projects. The Utah Cluster Acceleration Partnership (UCAP) is a collaboration of leaders from industry, state government, higher education, and workforce charged with developing strategies to develop industry-driven education and training services, leverage resources from higher education to accelerate industry clusters, and identify best practices.

Over the past few months, several states have announced efforts aimed at reducing the nation's dependence on oil. While the importance and urgency of such efforts is perhaps magnified in the wake of one of the worst U.S. environmental disasters, the shift to a renewable energy-focused economy also brings with it the expectation of job creation, new product development, and increased revenue for states struggling in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

The FY12 Business, Economic Development and Labor budget approved by lawmakers includes $25.7 million for USTAR, the state-funded initiative to grow a knowledge-based economy. This is the same amount recommended by Gov. Gary Herbert, but down from FY11 projected spending of $35.4 million. That amount included some ARRA funding from previous years, however. Research Teams will receive $23 million and $1.9 million is slated for Technology Outreach.

Recent announcements of new and emerging technology incubators range from Google's selection of Cape Town, South Africa to launch a pilot incubator supporting technology entrepreneurs that it hopes to replicate globally to Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley's plan to create a statewide business incubator focusing on workforce training. Select announcements from across the globe are highlighted below.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the selection of 10 regional economic development and job creation efforts through a new pilot program, Innovative Economies, that supports small business participation in regional economic clusters. SBA's funding is designed to expand the opportunities and the role small businesses play in these regional collaborations. The awardees were selected from among 173 applicants. Awards went to organizations in: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina.

California's next governor will inherit a dire budget situation and an unemployment rate that is above the national average. While the two main candidates vying for the job offer different visions for enhancing California's economy, both plans set forth policies and incentives to encourage renewable energy development and deployment and provide resources to support entrepreneurs. Jerry Brown (D) has a clean energy jobs plan that he says will produce half a million jobs in research, development, manufacturing, construction, installation, and maintenance over the next decade.

California's green economy remains strong through the Great Recession, according to a new report — the 2010 California Green Innovation Index. The yearly report published by Next 10 provides dashboard of indicators that track changes over time. This year's report indicates that California's clean tech companies continue to attract venture capital (VC) investments, the state leads the nation in clean tech patents and green manufacturing has grown.

Steve Biggers, deputy director, Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology has retired after 31 years of service to the state. He has served at OCAST for the last 19 years.

Tom Thornton, president and CEO of the Kansas Bioscience Authority, submitted his letter of resignation to the board effective immediately. David Vranicar, president of the authority's Heartland BioVentures division, was named interim president and CEO.