Lobbying At The Capital: AeA Tech Summit ’08
A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of lobbying on behalf of high technology companies in California at the annual AeA Tech Summit in Sacramento.
Each year, the AeA (the nation’s largest high-tech trade association, with over 2,500 member companies nationwide) works with its team in Sacramento to address key policy issues, build alliances with policy makers and educate the public-at-large about the significant contributions made by the high technology industry overall.
According to 2006 statistics, California leads the nation in high technology with over 940,677 jobs at an estimated 43,424 organizations. Fully 72 out of every 1,000 people are employed by a high-tech firm and wages are 112% more than the average private sector wage. The state ranks 8th is R&D per capita and 1st in terms of venture capital investments.
At this year’s summit, several key themes dominated the discussion:
1. California Competitiveness
2. Tax/Fiscal Issues
3. Environmental Issues
4. Education Technology
5. Procurement
6. E-Commerce / Emerging Technologies
This year’s Tech Summit proved to be one of the more vibrant and energetic ones in recent history according to many who attended. Through the efforts of dedicated individuals throughout Southern California and AeA staffers in Sacramento, the issues most important to the high-technology community were thoughtfully discussed and debated. The renewed vigor and growing presence of the AeA governmental affairs committee here in Southern California can be attributed, at least in part, to the participation of a longtime friend of mine, Kevin McDonald, who was recently awarded the Excellence in Government Advocacy award at the annual AeA High Tech Innovation Awards last Tuesday. Kevin has played such a significant role in the revitalization of government affairs, that the AeA announced that the award bestowed upon him would now carry his name.
Much work needs to be done — especially in the areas of competitiveness where issues like the R&D tax credit and the quality of science and math education come to the fore. For my part, I will be investigating how I might lend a hand to help steer efforts in the right direction.