Highlights from Governor Strickland's 2010 State of the State Address

Highlights from Governor Strickland’s

2010 State of the State Address

Believing in Ohio – Governor Ted Strickland’s 2010 State of the State

Highlights

In his 2010 State of the State Address, Governor Strickland outlined

pragmatic solutions to address Ohio’s immediate economic challenges without

breaking the bank – and how Ohio is laying a foundation for steady economic

progress and a thriving middle class. He believes there isn’t a single

thing wrong with Ohio that can’t be fixed by what’s right with Ohio.

Governor Strickland is:

Accelerating Ohio’s Advanced Energy Economy to Create Jobs

Ohio has emerged as a leader in the advanced energy sector because of

Governor Strickland’s strategic, targeted investments and aggressive energy

plan, SB 221, to develop the energy industry in Ohio. Ohio’s advanced energy

companies are investing in Ohio, growing and creating jobs. Ohio is ranked

#1 in new green jobs created last year and #1 in renewable and advanced

energy manufacturing projects.

The Governor’s 2010 agenda builds on this foundation by:

Establishing the Energy Gateway Fund, a $40 million commitment of state and

federal stimulus funds to grow and sustain fuel cell, solar, wind, and

energy storage industries. The fund will offer capital to advanced energy

companies with products ready for the commercial market. And we will at

least double the impact of the investments by requiring a minimum

dollar-for-dollar match from private funds – supporting long-term industry

growth in Ohio.

Enhancing Ohio’s competitiveness to attract wind and solar facilities by

eliminating Ohio’s tangible personal property tax on generation for wind and

solar facilities that begin construction in 2010, produce energy by 2012,

and create Ohio jobs.

Branding Ohio “America’s Energy Gateway” and showcasing Ohio’s position in

renewable energy to visitors at Ohio Turnpike service plazas in Williams and

Mahoning counties and future ODOT projects.

Supporting Entrepreneurs and Businesses to Innovate, Compete and Create Jobs

Ohio business taxes are the lowest in the Midwest. And by seeing the 2005

tax reforms through, the Strickland Administration has provided Ohioans with

the largest tax cut in modern state history. The Strickland Administration

continues to make strategic, targeted investments in growing industries –

bioscience, agriculture and bioproducts, aerospace, logistics, insurance and

financial services – and to support our small and minority businesses. Ohio

is the only state where exports have grown each year since 1998. And

Governor Strickland has made education the cornerstone of Ohio’s plan for

long-term economic growth and success.

The Governor’s 2010 agenda builds on this foundation by:

Renewing the Successful Third Frontier Program, which has created 48,000

jobs for Ohioans and leveraged more than $6.6 billion in outside

investments.

Addressing the credit crunch by creating the Small Business Growth

Partnership, a business-lending clearinghouse to help small businesses find

the working capital they need to grow their businesses and create jobs.

Because lack of access to capital is the single greatest factor inhibiting

economic recovery, the Strickland administration and State Treasurer Kevin

Boyce are working with lenders to establish a working capital jobs fund, a

public-private partnership to establish a new, dedicated source for business

working capital.

Establishing Insource Ohio, an effort between the state and Ohio companies

currently outsourcing or considering outsourcing to demonstrate how our

workforce can meet their needs within a business model that remains

competitive.

Developing a groundbreaking agreement between Cincinnati-based P&G and the

University System of Ohio aimed at strengthening research collaborations

between our university faculty and students and P&G. This initiative will

turn innovative ideas into economic development and new jobs in Ohio. The

governor also charged the Ohio Auto Industry Support Council with building a

similar network between Ohio’s manufacturers and the cutting-edge research

going on in Ohio.

Implementing the Regulatory Reform Fast TRAC at the Ohio Department of

Transportation to accelerate funding and final approval for Ohio’s most

promising job-creating transportation projects. The state will dedicate $100

million in cost savings to these Fast TRAC projects, putting more Ohioans to

work building roads, repairing bridges and making Ohio move.

Expanding Cleveland’s Jumpstart Program to a pilot project to assist

high-potential minority owned firms in developing business plans for

sustained growth and in accessing venture capital in 21 Northeast Ohio

counties.

Expanding Education, Training and Job Opportunities for Ohio Workers

Ohio’s workforce is second-to-none and Governor Strickland intends to keep

it that way. Since 2007, the state helped train more than 140,000 Ohioans

and improved job-training efforts to match workers with jobs that are hard

to outsource in high-growth industry sectors. Enrollment to community

colleges has grown 23 percent over the last three years and 65,591 more

Ohioans are enrolled in our public colleges and universities than in 2006.

The Governor’s 2010 agenda builds on this foundation by:

Establishing Build Your Own Business, a statewide expansion of the highly

successful program at Lorain County Community College where they offer

business training and support to budding small business people – and where

60 of the 62 businesses they have mentored are succeeding. Through a

partnership with Ohio’s Small Business Development Centers, state community

colleges and adult career centers, the state will offer unemployed Ohioans

courses and training on starting a business, and the opportunity to work

with business mentors and access small start-up loans of up to $5,000.

Creating a Manufacturing Certificate that manufacturing workers can obtain

to show employers their full range of job skills and experience. This

official credential can also be used to earn credit toward additional job

training and education.

And working with the legislature to prioritize casino license revenue toward

workforce development programs that work. The governor is asking the

legislature to consider:

Implementing Ohio’s Co-op Internship program to give college students an

opportunity to get invaluable experience in their field and encourage our

young people to stay and build their lives in Ohio.

Continuing support for the Ohio Workforce Guarantee program that averts

layoffs and spurs business expansion by providing training resources to

companies.

Creating the Urban Workforce Initiative to provide incentives for Ohio

companies to immediately put unemployed workers from our urban centers back

to work.

Revitalizing our Cities and Rural Economies to Create Jobs

Ohio is home to proud, world-class cities and small rural and farming

communities, each with their own economic identities. Acknowledging that the

success of Ohio rests on the growth of our cities and rural communities, the

governor’s State of the State lays out strategic investments to move both

forward:

Establishing Hubs of Innovation and Opportunity in Ohio’s Largest Cities.

The state will provide planning money and development assistance to further

build connections between industry strengths anchored in Ohio’s urban cores

and their surrounding regions.

Urging legislative action on three Compact with Ohio Cities Task Force

recommendations:

* Authorize the Creation of Transportation Innovation Authorities (TIAs),

a new and unique tool for regional cooperation between the public and

private sectors on significant transportation investments, like intermodal

facilities, roadway and bridge projects, public transit-oriented

development, light rail or intercity rail.

* Expand Cuyahoga County’s successful pilot Land Banks program by

allowing local and state governments to take ownership of vacant land

parcels in order to make them available for future productive use.

* Pass a comprehensive bill to reduce foreclosures and assist Ohio

homeowners.

Launching the Ohio Neighborhood Harvest to do a better job getting

Ohio-grown and raised foods onto the dinner tables of Ohio families.

Ohioans spend about $43 billion every year on food, but only 3 percent of

that spending goes to products from Ohio farms. This program will improve

access to Ohio-grown products, ensure that people in every neighborhood have

access to affordable, healthy food, and help boost our rural economies.

Aggressively Pursue the Construction of a Biorefinery, building on Ohio’s

agricultural output, knowledge and ideal location for the development of a

biorefinery, which converts farm output into food, fuel and biopolymers.

Just about any product made today from petroleum-based plastic –

toothbrushes, cell phones, printer cartridges – can be made from

biopolymers.

Submitted by the Governor's Office

Believing in Ohio – Governor Ted Strickland’s 2010 State of the State