2012 General Assembly Opens in Richmond
The 140 members of the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate are back in Richmond for the 2012 legislative session, facing tough decisions on the state budget, transportation, higher education, K-12 education, state pensions and economic development initiatives.
The Virginia Biotechnology Association (VABIO) is focused on protecting funding for key initiatives that support the biosciences as well as monitoring any legislation that could make it even harder for our members to grow their companies in the Commonwealth.
Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell’s proposed biennial state budget for fiscal years 2012-2014 includes more than $37 million in economic development funds that will directly support new jobs and investment in Virginia’s bioscience and advanced technology industry. The total package includes at least $10 million in new money over funding levels in the previous state budget.
The funding will support Virginia’s successful technology-based economic development initiatives as well as a new life sciences initiative at our research universities:
- Refundable R&D Tax Credit for companies ($10M over biennium)
- Commonwealth Research and Commercialization Fund (CRCF) and SBIR Match for companies ($12M over biennium)
- Angel Investor Tax Credit for investors ($10M over biennium)
- Virginia Life Science Research Initiative ($10M over biennium)
In addition, the Governor is proposing to extend the sunset of the capital gains exclusion from 2013 to 2015.
“Governor McDonnell and Lieutenant Governor Bolling are to be commended for their strong support of these proven technology-based economic development programs,” said Mark A. Herzog, executive director of VABIO. “Bioscience jobs pay approximately $40,000 above the average annual salary. These initiatives will create more job opportunities in many regions across Virginia.”
The proposed budget will now be taken up by the Virginia General Assembly which convenes this month.
To see the bills that VABIO is tracking for our members, click here.
Details from the media conference are available here.
All bioscience community members are encouraged to attend the 2012 Virginia Bioscience Legislative Reception, February 29th in Richmond, to meet state representatives and share why these programs are so valuable to company formation and technology development. Details on the event are available here.
