LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman said Monday that he wants to arm each of the nation's governors with an action plan to attract high-growth businesses and expand their economies.
Heineman said he will use his new role as chairman of the National Governors Association to promote economic growth, drawing from his experience in Nebraska and borrowing from other state plans. He said the national effort, Growing State Economies, is aimed at small businesses with the potential to grow rapidly and transform state economies.
The plan was unveiled one day after Heineman became the group's new chairman at its annual meeting in Salt Lake City. Heineman, who will serve a one-year term, is the first Nebraska governor to assume the title in 50 years. The job gives him a national pulpit to speak on behalf of the nation's governors.
"I'll try to share with them what I think is Nebraska's success story," Heineman said Monday at the Capitol. "It's taken years to put all of these things into place, but I go back and look at what we've done" as an example of what states might consider.
Heineman cited several Nebraska programs designed to attract business: the Nebraska Advantage incentive program, the largest tax relief package in the state's history, and the state's $25 million investment in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Innovation Campus.
Heineman said he will emphasize Nebraska's focus on international trade and his administration's recent efforts to meet business leaders in Japan, Thailand, Germany and Cuba. He said he would like to see the state consider ideas from Washington state, where Gov. Chris Gregoire has worked to encourage the completion of college degrees instead of schools simply enrolling more students.
The governor said the association will develop a list of initiatives that states can follow to create more jobs. He said the effort will focus on recruiting businesses from outside the United States, connecting companies with state research institutions and creating policies that make it easier for start-up outfits.
The Growing State Economies project will provide governors with a state profile of their business and economic climates, and produce reports on job-growth policies that have worked in other states
The profiles will include a strength-and-weaknesses breakdown that examines each state's regulatory environment, business support and workforce. The reports, based on interviews with business leaders and a study of state data, will be released in 2012.
Heineman said the initiative will deliver about 10 ideas designed to stoke the so-called high-growth businesses that can transform a state's economy and create new jobs.
The group will also host four regional summits to connect governors and their economic development advisers with entrepreneurs and researchers. The summits will be held in Hartford, Conn., Nashville, Tenn., Seattle, Wash., and Omaha.
Heineman had served as the group's vice chair before he advanced to the chairmanship. The new vice chair is Delaware Gov. Jack Markell.
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