Tech group lobbies for more fees

The Utah Technology Industry Council will push for an increase in business licensing fees as a way to boost tech company incubation and school entrepreneurial/investor education, among other activities.

That was one of the top legislative priorities established during Thursday's council meeting.

The proposal, just in the concept stage, calls for allowing the Utah Division of Securities to keep all its fines, and for increase licensing fees. Half of the money would be used for entrepreneurial/investor education at the public and private school and college level. The rest would be used to foster new technology company incubation, providing funds for federal Small Business Innovations Research matching programs and entrepreneurial support organizations to foster networking, education and fund-raising programming.

"That's a funding mechanism that can be put into place and could act as a prop for a number of new initiatives," said council member Brad Bertoch.

Council member Suzanne Winters suggested that legislation might include a provision maintaining the division's current general-fund contribution level through a fixed amount or a set percentage of the money raised.

Asked if the measure would be seen simply as another tax, Bertoch replied, "That's always an issue, but when it can be used for business development, it's more palatable than being put in the general fund."

Another item the council will push is moving Centers of Excellence program funding to $3 million annually, $1 million higher than the current level.

The centers program helps fund university-based technology programs that are in the research stage but working their way to commercialization. Grant recipients must provide matching funds.

The council also will look into legislation establishing an entity to attract federal and state funding for focused tech incubation to be commercialized.

The council decided to endorse measures that would allow more flexibility in state economic development incentive funds, continue the current phase of the governor's engineering initiative to double the number of science and engineering graduates, and establish ongoing funding for the Utah Technology Alliance at $450,000 annually, among others.

It also will support a constitutional review allowing higher education institutions to take equity in corporations in exchange for license rights to state-owned technologies and/or their incubation. That would be an exception to the constitutional prohibition against holding equity.

The council opted to wait until the 2004 interim period or later to focus on sales tax code revisions to eliminate local incentives to attract retail businesses over technology businesses, economic and administrative incentives to encourage tech business development, a resolution to encourage municipalities to streamline their permitting processes, and state creation of economic development "engines" for projects, including issuing revenue bonds.

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