Technology Legislative Update

In 2010, the TBC will continue its public policy agenda to monitor and advocate on issues at the state and federal levels important to the North Texas technology community.

Some of the hot issues we are currently monitoring include the Cancer Research Institute Fund, patent reform, the Small Business Innovation Research Program, network neutrality and others.

State Issues
The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) was established in 2007 to disperse grants to research institutions and companies to encourage discovery and commercialization of cures and prevention of cancer. In 2009, the Institute became fully operational and announced plans to accept and review grant applications from researchers across the state. While a few grants have already been awarded for faculty recruitment, the vast majority of first-round grants will be awarded this spring and summer. The Chamber will continue monitoring this issue and facilitating increased applications from the DFW area to CPRIT.

Federal Issues
On the federal side, current issues include small business innovation research (SBIR) grants, patent reform, and net neutrality.

Congress is currently in the process of reauthorizing the SBIR program, which is set to expire on January 30th. Because the committees of jurisdiction in the House and Senate have been unable to reach a compromise for a long-term program extension, another short term extension is expected to pass at the same existing funding levels. The Chamber is supportive of the SBIR program as it benefits many start-up technology developers in the North Texas region.

Regarding patent reform, the Chamber is continuing to monitor this issue should the debate be reinvigorated this year. Last year, the Senate passed a bill out of committee that created solutions to some of the difficult issues; however that bill did not reach the Senate floor for a vote. Should this issue move forward in 2010, the Chamber will seek input from its members on our advocacy strategy?

The Chamber is also monitoring the network neutrality issue. The FCC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking last fall stating that it intended to implement new principles regulating the internet and wireless broadband. Under the regulations, internet service providers would have to treat content “neutrally” regarding access speeds. Generally, internet content managers have been supportive of “net neutrality,” while service providers have strongly opposed it. The FCC accepted public comments on this issue on January 14th, and the agency continues to move forward on this rulemaking process. A final comment period will occur in March with an anticipated rule coming out this spring. While the Chamber does not have an official position on this issue, the staff would appreciate feedback from our members.

TBC Legislative Briefings
Finally, the TBC is pleased to announce a new Technology Legislative Briefing Series for 2010 as an opportunity for our members to get more involved in public policy issues. The series will consist of three to four breakfast briefings for TBC members featuring government elected officials or agency executives discussing current technology and life science legislative issues. For more information on this series, contact Shannon Clark at sclark@dallaschamber.org or (214) 712-1922.