Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle has submitted her budget proposal to the state legislature for the fiscal biennium 2007-09, including significant increase in the amount allocated for certain state economic development entities. The High Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), a state agency that develops and supports Hawaii’s science and technology resources, would grow from average annual expenditures of $4.2 million in the 2005-07 biennium cycle to $9.8 million in the next cycle.

Most of the nation's governors use the winter months to publicly lay out their agendas, visions and budget requests for the coming year. The text of State of the State Addresses, Budget Messages and, to a lesser extent, Inaugural Addresses, often reveals each governor's legislative priorities and new initiatives to be pursued over the coming months.

This is the third in a series of articles as SSTI continues its look at the prominence of tech-based economic development in the Inaugural, State of the State and Budget Addresses given by the nation's governors. Highlights from this week's speeches are provided below.

The satisfying flavor of success in tech-based economic development is whetting Oklahoma's appetite for more. Lots more.

Jim Petell is the first director of technology transfer and commercialization for the University of North Dakota.

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology has named Sheri Stickley interim executive director, following the resignation of William Sibley.

Amid criticism from taxpayers, legislators in Hawaii agreed to renew the widely debated bill that extends high-technology tax credit for another five years, without a provision requiring the disclosure of companies that receive the credits, the Honolulu Advertiser recently reported.

Oklahoma's Higher Education Day, when students and faculty are given the chance to discuss their concerns with the state legislature, recently provided a golden opportunity of sorts for Gov. Brad Henry. Held March 9 at the State House, the event enabled the governor to advocate support for a bond issue that would fund endowed chairs at Oklahoma's colleges and universities.

Kay Wade is the new president of the Oklahoma Professional Economic Development Council. Ms. Wade retains her position as director of the Center for Business Development at the Meridian Technology Center.

Securing the multi-year funding needed to properly ramp up technology-based economic development (TBED) initiatives can be difficult in states with annual budget cycles and tight revenue streams. Fortunately, there is one federal agency that provides financial assistance increasingly toward local and regional projects matching the interests of the nation's TBED community.

Peter Abramo has been named executive director of Cameron University’s Center of Emerging Technologies and Entrepreneurial Studies, effective Aug. 30.

In an effort to increase the economic impact of the state's university-based research, Gov. John Hoeven has included $50 million in his 2005-07 budget request to create Centers of Excellence on each of the North Dakota 's college campuses.

Gov. Brad Henry unveiled the details of his fiscal year 2009 budget recommendation earlier this week, providing a substantial increase in funding to the state’s lead TBED agency and proposing a permanent funding mechanism for cutting-edge research through the EDGE Endowment.

 

Oklahoma is one step closer to positioning itself as a leader in sustainable energy production, with the creation of a $40 million Bioenergy Center. The legislature passed SB 510 at the close of the 2007 session last month, establishing the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center announced by Gov. Brad Henry during his State-of-the-State Address earlier this year (see the Feb.

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) is creating the Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center. The Center will help technology-based firms assess their commercialization needs, guide them through the commercialization process, and link them to a network of technology sources and commercialization assistance services.

One of the latest examples of the important role a foundation can play in tech-based economic development strategies comes from a recent $15 million donation to Tulsa University. The Chapman Trust, established after the deaths of Oklahoma oilman James Chapman and his wife Leta Chapman, made the donation to perpetually endow nine new junior faculty positions at the university.

In an effort to provide quality, high-speed telecommunications services throughout the state, North Dakota has committed $3 million for the first phase of a broadband telecommunications network that is expected to cost the state $20 million when completed. When the first phase is finished later this year, 218 locations in 64 communities will be connected.

Oklahomans need “to make fundamental changes in the way we see ourselves and the way we do things...to prevent us from slipping farther and farther behind, languishing on the sidelines of the New Economy,” according to a 14-member committee of public and private sector leaders. 

Bill Sibley has been named as President of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology. Mike Irby, who has been serving as Acting President for OCAST, will be retiring at the end of the year.