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Washington Techies Eye Road, Tax Issues
by Maureen Sirhal
Washington state's technology sector is eyeing ballot initiatives that could help the industry survive a battered economy that has left the state facing a budget shortfall of about $2 billion over two years.
Washington is home to Microsoft and other software firms such as RealNetworks. The state presently is suffering from one of the nation's highest unemployment rates. Major layoffs at companies like Boeing and some tech firms have reduced the overall workforce.
"Software and wireless and biotechnology and bioinformatics are still [industries] bouncing along the bottom," Lew McMurran, director of government affairs for the Washington Software Alliance (WSA), said of the prospects for the tech industry in the state. "There are a few bright spots, but it is certainly not what it was" a few years ago.
In the Nov. 5 election, the high-tech sector there is eyeing ballot initiatives that aim to improve the state's transportation infrastructure and ease growing congestion. The major concern is the quality of life.
Washington residents will vote on Referendum 51, which would raise gas taxes and impose other fees, reserving the money, an estimated $7.8 billion over 10 years, for improvements to the transportation infrastructure. The gas tax would increase from 23 cents a gallon to 32 cents.
Washington tech firms support the initiative. "Over the past two years, when I do legislative surveys [of WSA member companies] ... transportation has come up unsolicited," McMurran said. "It becomes a recruitment and retention issue" for skilled workers.
"It's a huge quality-of-life issue for our employees," Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake said. But she added that congestion also is a productivity issue for the software maker because "employees spend a lot of time sitting in traffic."
Seattle voters, meanwhile, will decide whether to authorize a 1.4 percent tax on motor vehicles to fund the construction of a 14-mile monorail line in city. The tax would be $140 per $10,000 of vehicle value, or about $244 on average per household. Although the monorail has received past support, the measure is the first to attach a tax to fund the idea.
McMurran said that in general, Washington tech groups are eyeing issues likely to emerge in the state legislature next year. In particular, WSA is concerned about potential cuts in areas like higher education to cover the budget shortfall. State funding for institutions like the University of Washington could prove troubling, he said, because the school is "one of the reasons why we have a tech community here."
Right now, the legislature is closely divided. Democrats carry a 25-24 edge in the Senate and 50-48 lead in the House. Twenty-four of the 49 Senate seats and all 98 House seats are up for election this year.
Tech firms are not really supporting any particular candidates, experts said, mostly because legislators express a willingness to work with firms when they arrive in Olympia, the state capital. Drake noted that Microsoft has "gotten great support across the board."
In general, however, the industry hopes to see leaders in both houses who will focus attention on supporting two major tax credits that will expire in 2004: a general credit for research and development and a sales-tax credit for R&D-related purchases, including new facilities to conduct research initiatives.
"Our No. 1 legislative priority is to preserve those tax credits," McMurran said. But few legislative candidates are discussing issue, he said, as they instead focus on issues like transportation and economic development. "There isn't anything driving voters to the polls this year," he added.
Tech Lobbyist's Memo Raises Eyebrows In Michigan
Michigan Republicans are crying foul over an internal memo from a lobbyist at EDS that seeks to raise funds for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jennifer Granholm.
Gonchwer, a daily newsletter that covers Michigan government and politics, reported last week that an internal EDS memo, stressed the need to raise $30,000 for Granholm in hopes of establishing a relationship with the future Michigan governor. Republican Party officials charged that the memo suggests EDS is looking for a "quid pro quo" of campaign dollars in exchange for securing potentially lucrative state technology contracts.
Granholm denied knowledge of the memo and said she would not take funds from the Dallas-based firm, which is the largest technology company in Michigan.
California Lauded For Privacy Efforts
The Privacy Journal ranked California No. 1 among the states for protecting personal privacy, Gov. Gray Davis said this week.
Privacy Journal Publisher Robert Ellis Smith said the factors on which the states were ranked include state laws, administrative and high-court decisions, and the language of state constitutions. California's laws on financial records, computer crime, credit reporting, electronic surveillance, genetic discrimination, medical confidentiality, student records, caller-identification telephone services and telemarketing are among the strongest in the nation, the journal concluded.
Davis touted a dozen laws passed since 1999, including new limits on the public display of Social Security numbers and stricter rules on preventing identity theft, that he said have enhanced consumer privacy. In 2000, Davis authorized the creation of the Office of Privacy Protection within the California Consumer Affairs Department.
Federal Agency Awards Tech-Related Grants
The Small Business Administration has named 27 winners of the Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) awards.
The program grants matching funds to help states expand assistance to technology firms. The 2002 winners will receive $100,000 each. The money will go to facilities in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
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