The last couple months, I’ve spoken to you through this newsletter and in many face-to-face conversations about some of my initial thoughts on how to grow the association in the New Year. As I begin to plan for my first Board of Directors meeting as AeA’s new CEO, I wanted to discuss some of the things I’ve heard and what we’re doing.

The first thing we are doing is broadening and strengthening our State Government Affairs (SGA) program. In a press briefing on January 24, we discussed how we intend to start doing this. The following are three specific initiatives we launched at the briefing and our winter SGA meeting:

• Expanding the SGA program to additional states;
• Hiring a policy expert to oversee the environmental programs in AeA at the state, national, and international levels; and
• Initiating the AeA Information Network--a new web-based resource which provides members with one-of-a-kind information on issues in the state houses affecting the high-tech industry.

State legislatures are becoming far more active in introducing and pushing legislation of interest to high-tech companies. The reason for this is partly because the industry continues to be a larger portion of our national economy. The relative dysfunction of the U.S. Congress is another reason. State governments and legislatures are becoming far more active in a variety of areas.

Our member companies have been expressing to me their priority for broader State Government Affairs coverage so we are going to provide it.

With the increase in funding, AeA will dedicate approximately $6.2 million from its total operating budget to the State Government Affairs program. By allocating additional funds, AeA is best positioned in our industry to invest in strengthening an area of critical importance and to comprehensively address the needs of all of its members across the country.

AeA currently has 20 lobbyists working in top technology states providing member companies intelligence about legislation, and the capability to communicate with key legislators. AeA is active in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. In addition to our activity and presence, we are highly connected in these states and others. Among the recent activity in our state program is the following.

• On January 9, AeA was the only high-tech trade association to testify at a South Carolina database breach and identity theft hearing, which resulted in obtaining three positive amendments to the bill.
• On January 10, I had the pleasure of awarding Texas Governor Rick Perry with a Legislative Champion Award in Austin to recognize his and seven other State Senate and House legislators on their commitment to technology and keeping the state competitive.
• On January 17, our Sacramento office hosted the first public appearance of the new Cabinet-Level State of California CIO.
• On January 31, AeA testified at a New York State child online safety hearing.
• And next month we’re going to host a senior government leadership conference in Florida, where Governor Charlie Crist has been invited and former Maine Governor Angus King is confirmed to speak.

To maximize support and further increase this national presence, AeA will soon hire contract lobbyists in additional states, and will also be adding environmental personnel to advocate public policy and “green tech” at the state, national, and international levels. During the SGA meeting that took place in San Francisco from January 23-24, Jim Wall, Microsoft Regional Government Affairs Director and Chairman of the AeA SGA program, and the other members in attendance (including Deirdre Hanford, Chairperson of the AeA Board of Directors) shared their thoughts of the best strategy to add these resources. When these details are finalized, I will communicate them to you.

We are also very excited about the launch of the AeA Information Network. This resource has been designed to allow members to easily obtain information regarding state legislative and regulatory actions and proposals that impact their companies.

Providing a wealth of information about legislative and regulatory activity in states where AeA lobbies, members will be able to obtain and share intelligence from states around the country based on issue and state-by-state analysis in a readable form that is understandable by non-experts. The AeA Information Network is free of charge to all association members.

As I referred to in the opening of my memo, in mid-February, AeA will be hosting our Board of Directors Winter meeting.  The Board and I will be discussing additional ways to make certain we are providing substantial value to you – whether it be access to investors through our financial conferences; business development through our Government & Commercial Markets Group; executive education through our partnerships with Stanford University and Santa Clara University; or our preferred business services in everything from health insurance, discounts on shipping and freight, and reduced costs for rental cars and audio, video, and web conferencing.

Lastly, I wanted to end this memo by welcoming the forty new members who joined AeA since we opened the fiscal year. From the up-and-coming companies – like Pulse-Link, Inc. of Carlsbad, CA, and On Track Technologies of Durham, NC – to the established multi-national corporations like Tellabs, we thank you for your support in joining the nearly 2,500 companies that make up AeA today. In addition to these forty new members, more companies are in the process of joining our ranks all the time. We look forward to working with you and them in defining who AeA is tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Chris Hansen
President & CEO, AeA