The Public Policy Committee from the Arizona Technology Council announced their publication of their Public Policy Guide for 2014 that is crafted specifically to aid elected officials at all levels of government. This guide provides principles and positions for elected officials to review while drafting policies for Arizona’s technology industry.
Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council states, “Our positions and initiatives are crafted to create outcomes such as a healthy environment for technology-related job creation, adequate sources of capital that encourage entrepreneurship and highly trained talent to compete in a global, innovation-based economy.”
The Committee’s legislative priorities are as follows:
*Create an Early-Stage Technology Venture Capital Fund
*Expand the Refundable Research and Development Tax Credit
*Encourage Uniform Commercial Code Technical Conformance Changes
*Improve University Intellectual Property/Technology Transfer Outcomes
Arizona Technology Council’s main focuses are as follows:
Capital formation is a weak point in the state of Arizona. Primarily, Arizona legislators need to develop policies to ensure that early-stage capital is readily available in order to keep small businesses and start-ups in state. The gap in the investment industry in the state of Arizona is that it is difficult for small companies to find the adequate funding for their business to mature.
Cyber Security is a critical issue that every industry faces. Educating businesses about cyber risks and the best practices to combat and block cyber attacks is a crucial issue in order to keep a company’s technology infrastructure safe.
The Council supports Universities in the state of Arizona by improving each University’s technology infrastructure upon which they rely. The Council also supports the enhancement of commercialization.
Healthcare is transitioning into the electronic world by integrating medicine and technology to deliver simple healthcare. Diagnosing patients and prescribing medication can be as simple as communicating through electronic means such as mobile devices and video conferencing.
Telecommunications was also mentioned as a critical aspect in the development of any industry. Utilizing video conferencing, instant messaging, social media platforms, massive file transferring.
Other areas of industry in the 2014 Public Policy Guide are:
- Aerospace, Aviation & Defense
- Economic Development
- Education
- Energy
- Federal issues
- Legal
- State Budget and Taxation
- Transportation/Digital infrastructure
- Workforce Development
- Workplace
To read the complete Public Policy Guide click here.
Read more about the AZ Tech Council on AZTB here.