Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 24, 2000
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

WA receives 'A' grade in economic development report card

OLYMPIA — Gov. Gary Locke today announced that Washington received an "A" grade in a national report card on economic development and a place on the honor roll of the states with the highest performance.

The grade for 1999 came from the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CfED) and by the Center for Economic Development at Carnegie Mellon University in a joint production called the Development Report Card for the States.

Washington was one of 10 states receiving an "A," along with New Hampshire, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah, Vermont, Colorado, Maine, Nebraska and Connecticut.

This is the fifth consecutive year that Washington has earned an "A" in the report card.

For 1999, the state received especially high marks for:

"Resource efficiency" (specifically, renewable energy in the form of hydroelectricity).

"Entrepreneurial energy" (specifically, creation of new businesses and new business job growth).

"Infrastructure resources" (highways, bridges, sewage treatment systems and digital technology).

"Innovation assets" (specifically, private research and development, royalties and licenses, household computer use, and companies that spin out of university-developed technologies).

The state's lowest marks were in the prosperity gap between rural and urban residents, crime rate and business closings. Closing the gap is a top priority for Locke. Last year, he implemented a comprehensive rural vitality strategy to help rural communities in build the infrastructure needed to promote economic growth. The rural vitality package also provided tax incentives for technology-based businesses that locate in rural areas. This year, the governor is promoting a number of initiatives that would improve telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas, as well as close the skills gap for workers throughout the state.

Commenting on the "A" grade, Locke said, "I'm glad to see Washington listed again as a national leader for maintaining and building the assets that make a state a great place to live and work. However, we still have more work to do. We will continue to advocate for education to maintain our quality of life and competitive advantage, make regulatory improvements, seek fiscally prudent tax reductions, strive for a balance of growth and natural resource protection, and close the prosperity gap between our urban and rural areas."

The "A" for economic development was the latest in a series of nationwide report cards giving Washington high grades from a business perspective.

In 1999, Governing magazine and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University ranked Washington as one of four states receiving an "A minus" for financial management, capital management, human resources, managing for results and information technology.

For additional information, contact Sheila Martin, Locke's policy advisor for economic development, at 360-902-0675.

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