Jeff Bridges, Senator (Greenwood Village, CO)

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Closing Colorado’s Digital Divide

This week, NewDEAL Leader Colorado Senator Jeff Bridges’ bill to invest in internet access was signed into law. With the pandemic adding urgency to the necessity for access to high-speed reliable internet to participate in economic activities, education, telehealth, and more, Bridges’ bill provides $75 million to connect unserved and underserved communities, including $20 million specifically set aside for the Ute Mountain and Southern Ute Tribes. Learn more about how this funding increases equity, and keep an eye out for information on similar topics from the NewDEAL Forum Broadband Task Force.

Nan Whaley, Mayor (Dayton, OH)

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Leading the U.S. Conference of Mayors

This week, NewDEAL Leader Dayton, OH Mayor Nan Whaley was elected the 79th President of the United States Conference of Mayors, succeeding fellow NewDEAL Leader Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. In an address to her mayoral colleagues, Mayor Whaley outlined her priorities, including effectively implementing the American Rescue Plan, securing passage of the American Jobs and American Families Plan, and addressing gun violence. “We are in the middle of a transformational era for our country, and I am humbled by the opportunity to work more closely with our nation’s mayors in this new capacity to make a real difference in the lives of our residents…there is no better time than right now to meet this moment by creating a more safe and equitable future that is available to all of us, not just some of us.”  Also announced were other members of the elected UCSM Leadership team, including the addition of NewDEAL Leaders Lincoln, NE Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney to the group’s Advisory Board.

Caroline Simmons, Representative (Stamford, CT)

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Incentivizing Cybersecurity Measures

This week, the Connecticut House of Representatives unanimously passed NewDEAL Leader Representative Caroline Simmons’s cybersecurity bill that will incentivize businesses throughout the state to voluntarily adopt programs and practices that have been proven to increase protection from cyber threats. Representative Simmons highlighted that the bill “works to protect Connecticut’s infrastructure, utilities, businesses, hospitals, schools, and consumers.”  Read more about Rep. Simmons’ bill and its next steps here.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla (California)

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Many voters are planning to submit ballots by mail this year, due to health concerns around voting and other logistic challenges, but some voters may feel anxious about whether their vote arrived safely for counting. NewDEAL Leader California Secretary of State Alex Padilla unveiled a new tool to help voters track their ballots, allowing Californians to follow their ballot’s progress step by step until it’s officially counted. Check out more details about “Where’s my Ballot” to learn more about how Sec. Padilla is using tech to adapt to the unique challenges of the 2020 election season.

Resource and Development Tax Credit

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Problem

Historically, research and development incentives in Delaware have supported larger established companies. While these larger companies are vital to the state, smaller businesses and startups usually need more resources as they are starting out to remain competitive and expand their business efforts.

Solution

Rep. Short introduced legislation to reform the R&D Tax credit program in Delaware so that it will drive more of the resources to smaller start-up companies. By refocusing the credit toward smaller businesses and startups, this bill incentivizes innovation and growth in emerging industries that are critical to enhancing Delaware’s competitiveness and increasing the opportunity for job growth. If passed, the bill will improve the business climate for existing small businesses and attract new businesses to Delaware.

Enterprise Zones 2.0

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Problem

Several parts of Nebraska, including Omaha, suffer from greater unemployment rates than the rest of the state but the state has limited resources allocated to economic development programs.

Solution

Senator Mello authored legislation to reauthorize Nebraska’s enterprise zone statutes to encourage investment and economic growth by giving preference for projects in economically distressed communities. Rather than creating a new economic development program, this innovative idea focuses existing resources where the need is greatest for the largest economic return. By giving these areas a leg up on programs like job training and affordable housing funds, these communities are able to better prepare citizens with the skills and support they need to become self-sufficient and contribute to the state economy.

Best Practice P3s

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Problem

As traditional funding from the federal government has become increasingly uncertain, state and local governments are struggling to invest in the roads, power grids, and other kinds of infrastructure that we need to ‘build for the future’ in the changing economy. Without a standard set of rules around private funding for public infrastructure, it becomes much more difficult for both the government and private companies to fill this critical void.

Solution

Public Private Partnerships (P3s) are structures to essentially share resources to reduce the cost of construction, and therefore enable more projects, create the associated jobs, and literally build the kind of modern America we want to live in. Senator Keller is working to develop a standard set of best practices for public-private partnerships in order to untap private funding that can lower the cost and speed up infrastructure improvements while still ensuring accountability to the public.

Community Building Through Public Art

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Problem

Salem’s downtown pedestrian mall was in need of a variety of improvements; it was tired, in need of maintenance and repair, was not pedestrian friendly, and had vacant storefronts. Without improvements, the area lacked a strong sense of community and economic activity was hindered.

Solution

Mayor Driscoll is leading the planning stages of a downtown redesign based on feedback from residents who identified public art as a means to create a great public space and enhance the economic development potential of this area. The city is starting a formal public art initiative through development of a master plan for public art, adoption of an Ordinance by Council to establish a Public Art Ordinance, and the hiring of the first Public Art Planner. This is a smart investment for everyone because art and culture add vibrancy to neighborhoods, bring people together, attract tourists to visit and stay longer, and serve as an economic development tool.

Keep Your Money Local

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Problem

Cities and counties have millions in reserve and special funds but most of those dollars are invested in large funds run out of state. Local financial institutions know their community and customers better than large banks, and therefore by having access to those funds can more effectively invest in the community.

Solution

County Supervisor Coonerty proposes investing a small percentage of these reserves in local banks and credit unions to keep the money local, creating jobs and more funds for these institutions to lend to citizens to start businesses, purchase cars or improve their homes, all of which help grow the economy.

ROI on Tax Expenditures

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Problem

In most states and at the federal level tax expenditures (incentives, dedications, exemptions, loopholes etc.) that have not been recently analyzed and updated are draining resources from government budgets. In NM for example, these tax breaks have cost $1 billion of taxpayer money and have not significantly increased job creation.

Solution

Senator Keller is working to bring transparency and accountability to tax expenditures by requiring annual return on investment (ROI) and jobs created reporting. This information would make it easier for impactful programs to be enhanced and wasteful, redundant and out of date programs to be shifted to areas that are more effectively meeting citizen needs and creating jobs.

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