Tech Talkin’ Govs part 5: Tax incentives, clean energy, help for higher ed strike note in governors' addresses
More than half of the governors have now delivered their state of the state addresses, and TBED initiatives continue to play a prominent role in their plans. Higher ed’s affordability and/or role in the workforce are concerns in Montana, South Carolina, Utah and Vermont. Maryland is looking at clean energy and higher education. Utah is also grappling with burgeoning growth while Vermont considers measures to increase its workforce.
Tech Talkin’ Govs 2019, part 2: Broadband, education, climate change fixes on governors’ radars
Reviewing another slate of governors’ state of the state and inaugural addresses reveals some recurring themes. With a focus on maintaining gains made since the Great Recession and increasing budgets, many governors are holding off on major new initiatives, but are proposing means to increase broadband access, diversify their economies, build renewable energy efforts, and increase their rainy day funds in case of an economic downturn.
NSF invests $40M to strengthen STEM research capacity and workforce development across five EPSCoR jurisdictions
The U.S. National Science Foundation announced awards totaling approximately $40 million to support research and STEM workforce development in Delaware, Guam, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Vermont, according to a January 22 NSF press release.
Election 2024: states’ ballot measure initiatives impacting TBED
Forty-one states and Puerto Rico will vote on 151 statewide ballot measures this fall.
Forty-one states and Puerto Rico will vote on 151 statewide ballot measures this fall.
Many of this year’s measures focus on abortion; citizenship or electoral system reforms (such as Arizona’s Proposition (Prop) 133 and Missouri’s Amendment 7, which would prohibit ranked-choice voting, while Idaho’s Prop 1, Nevada’s Question 3, and Oregon’s Measure 117 would establish ranked-choice voting); criminal justice or drug use policies (including the legalization of recreational (Florida, North Dakota, and South Dakota) or medical (Nebraska) marijuana, as well as certain psychedelic substances (Massachusetts could be the third state to legalize psilocybin); and minimum wage increases. Voters in Alaska, California, Massachusetts, and Missouri will decide on minimum wage increases, with Nebraska voters deciding on an initiative requiring paid sick leave for employees. In Arizona, voters will decide whether tipped workers should be paid 25% less per hour than minimum wage.
A dozen initiatives would impact tech-based economic development—providing funding for initiatives, changing the electoral or redistricting system, altering taxes, or modifying the governance of higher education.
Group calls for cross-region action to address semiconductor labor shortages
For the United States to achieve greater security in chip manufacturing, the critical sector requires a much larger, better trained workforce.