In a special session on Tuesday, the Vermont Legislature enacted the state's FY10 budget, overriding last week's veto by Governor Jim Douglas. The budget eliminates or reduces funding for many programs related to economic development and TBED, cutbacks which were cited as concerns by Gov. Douglas in his veto announcement.

SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series has returned for its 12th annual edition. The series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from governors' State of the State, Budget and Inaugural addresses across the nation. The first installment includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Georgia, Iowa, New York, Kentucky, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, State of the State Address, Jan. 10, 2012 "... I want to announce two ambitious goals.

Gov. Peter Shumlin introduced a plan to invest $8 million in university programs designed to address a shortage of skilled workers. Under the plan, the University of Vermont and Vermont State Colleges each would receive $4 million in one-time funding to implement university-industry partnerships, facilitate re-entry of science and engineering professionals, and expand dual enrollment for high school seniors. In his Budget address to lawmakers last week, Gov.

The second installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Our first installment was in the Jan. 9 Digest.

Leslie Guice officially was approved by the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors to become the 14th president of Louisiana Tech University. Guice will take office July 1, 2013.

Camille Saltman has joined MD Revolution as president. Saltman was previously president of CONNECT and continues to be a member of CONNECT's board of directors.

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.

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.

In what is considered typical for an odd-numbered year, only 34 questions have been certified in nine statewide ballots this election year. Some of those measures include redirecting funds to support higher education, revenue enhancements for states, and repealing legislation that limits collective bargaining for public employees.

Ballot Initiatives

One is a proposed tech corridor focused on energy and environment in southeastern Louisiana and the other is being called a "knowledge district" meant to capitalize on the life sciences sector in Providence, but both have the same goal: growing high-tech industry sectors and creating high-wage jobs. Though the concept has been around for decades and is successful in many areas of the country, some states and regions are just now finding their niche and gaining support to establish tech hubs.

At the close of the 2011 legislative session in Louisiana last week, lawmakers approved three measures to encourage investment in high-tech economic endeavors. This includes renewing and enhancing the R&D tax credit and the Technology Commercialization credit and reinstating an angel investor tax credit for investment in emerging startups.

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.

Vermont Gov. Pete Shumlin has released a jobs package that includes a number of initiatives that could enhance the state's innovation economy. The jobs bill calls for a new creative economy office that would focus on technology efforts, a mentoring program for entrepreneurs, a statewide internship program, and a tax credit for companies that hire STEM graduates. Gov. Shumlin also has renewed his predecessor's pledge to extend full wireless voice and data coverage across the state.

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, and Vermont. The first three installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12 and Jan. 19 issues of the Digest.

Several states recently enacted spending plans for the upcoming fiscal year, which started July 1 for most states. In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal signed into law the LA GRAD Act, granting universities more flexibility to raise tuition in return for meeting certain performance goals. Lawmakers in Massachusetts allocated $10 million to continue the state's investment in life sciences, Pennsylvania Gov.

Recognizing the value in supporting companies that innovate to create high-quality jobs, governors in New Jersey and Louisiana recently outlined proposals to enhance tax incentives for R&D, technology commercialization, and transferable tax certificates during the upcoming legislative sessions. In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie proposed increasing the R&D tax credit to 100 percent and restoring full funding for the Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer program as part of his FY12 budget recommendations. Louisiana Gov.

Ray Gilley resigned as chief executive of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission after nine years on the job. Gilley was responsible for helping lure the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute to Central Florida.

Peter Ginsberg joined the North Carolina Biotechnology Center as vice president of Business & Technology Development.

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber seeks an executive director for its Regional Innovation Organization (RIO). The desired candidate will be a dynamic, visionary, and entrepreneurial leader who will launch a new regional acceleration entity that will lead entrepreneurial development in the Baton Rouge area. The individual will have direct responsibility for developing programming and capacity to support best-in-class business acceleration services that prepare companies for rapid growth in the region.

Proposals that promise job creation and economic growth have taken center stage in several state legislatures. Lawmakers who recognize the importance of R&D, tech commercialization, access to risk capital, and investment in higher education are fighting for passage of TBED-focused bills in the final months of their states' 2011 legislative sessions.