You asked us to compare state laws authorizing the establishment of regional technology development centers.

SUMMARY

Laws in at least eight states provide for the establishment of regional technology development centers, places where a region's scientists, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists can collaborate on developing new technology, establishing businesses to manufacture it, and training people to make or apply the technology. All envision public and private organizations, including colleges and universities, joining to establish and operate the centers, but differ in how they are established and funded.

Taken together, the eight laws contain the following six components that address how centers are established and funded.

● Centers' Purposes and Functions. All the laws delineate the centers' purposes and functions, but the range and mix varies from state to state. For example, Indiana's centers may nurture commercially viable high technology ventures, increase venture capital flows, and expand high technology related educational opportunities. New York's centers focus mainly on providing information and technical assistance needed to develop commercially viable high technology products and techniques.

● Eligible Operators. Some of the laws specify the types of organizations that may establish a center. Most of these allow only nonprofit organizations to establish centers, but Texas' allows these or for profit organizations to do so in collaboration with a public or private college or university.

● Designated Agency. Most of the states' laws designate a state public or quasi-public economic development entity to approve proposed centers.

● Center Selection Process and Criteria. Some laws explicitly provide a mechanism and criteria for submitting and approving proposed centers, respectively.

● Center Funding. Most of the states' laws authorize grants or loans for operating the centers.

Attachment 1 summarizes each state's statutory provisions.

OVERVIEW

Table 1 compares the types of provisions found in the states' laws. As the table shows, New York's law has the most. It specifies the centers' scope of services, makes the New York State Office of Science and Technology responsible for approving centers, specifies the procedure and criteria for doing so, and authorizes grants to fund them. Massachusetts' law has the fewest provisions. It authorizes the quasi-public Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to designate a life science center in each of five specified regions and delineates the services they must provide.

Table 1: Comparison of Provisions in Selected States' Regional Technology Development Center Laws

* Louisiana law allows nonprofits to establish regional research and development parks without obtaining a state agency's approval.

CENTERS' PURPOSES AND FUNCTIONS

As Table 2 shows, the statutory provisions specifying the centers' purposes and functions vary, but share a common goal and method to achieve it. The goal is to create new businesses and jobs by developing new, marketable technology. The method is to provide a place where scientists, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and others from different sectors can collaborate on creating new wealth by converting research into new technologies.

Table 2: Comparison of Selected States Regional Technology Development Centers' Statutory Functions

Most of the laws authorize the centers to develop and expand the region's high technology workforce. Half explicitly authorize them to attract private venture capital and foster collaborative partnerships and networks between academic and industry researchers, business managers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and others interested in converting research into new products and techniques.

CENTER SELECTION METHOD AND CRITERIA

As Table 3 shows, the states' laws differ in whether they specify (1) the types of organizations that can establish centers, (2) the method and criteria for designating them, and (3) how they fund centers.

Table 3: Comparison of Selected States Provisions for Selecting and Funding Centers

* Under Louisiana law, entities may form nonprofit organizations to establish regional research and development parks without state approval

** Texas law authorizes the 15-member gubernatorially appointed Emerging Technology Fund Advisory Committee to recommend funding for Regional Centers of Innovation and Commercialization.

The laws in half the states specify the types of entities eligible to establish a center. Those in Louisiana, New York, and Pennsylvania limit eligibility to nonprofit organizations. Texas' law allows private or nonprofit organizations establish centers as long as they do so in collaboration with a public or private college or university. Indiana's, Illinois', Kentucky's, and Massachusetts' laws are silent on eligible center operators, but the Kentucky's law gives the Department of Commercialization and Innovation (DCI) commissioner broad powers to address this and other issues.

The pattern is more diverse regarding procedures and criteria for designating centers.

● Indiana's, Illinois', and New York's law require organizations proposing centers to apply for state approval and specify the criteria for granting it.

● Pennsylvania's law similarly requires organizations to apply for state approval, but is silent on the selection criteria.

● Kentucky's law, on the other hand, specifies the criteria for approving centers, but not the procedure for doing so.

● Massachusetts' and Texas' laws specify neither procedures or criteria for approving centers.

● Louisiana's law allows nonprofit organizations to be formed specifically to establish regional research and development parks.

All the states' laws except Louisiana's and Massachusetts' provide funds for the regional technology development centers.

● Indiana's law provides grants and New York's and Pennsylvania's matching grants. In these cases, the grants are provided through the state entity authorized to approve proposed centers.

● Illinois' law authorizes grants or cost sharing, which are provided through the Commerce and Economic Opportunity Department.

● Kentucky's law makes the centers eligible for state appropriations.

● Texas' law makes them eligible for loans funded through the state's emerging technology fund.

● Massachusetts' and Louisiana's laws specify no funding source for the centers.

Attachment 1: State Regional Technology Development Programs

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