Small business owners planning to create cancer treatment products or new solar panel technology in Florida might be able to look forward to as much as $250,000 from the state to match federal grants.
A popular, $193 million economic development bill that passed the Florida Senate on Thursday, along with a smaller House bill that has yet to reach the floor, would create state matching funds for two federal programs that aid businesses venturing into the highly competitive research sector.
Our goal is to make it more likely that the research done at Florida universities and by Florida companies will go to our state, said Senate sponsor Don Gaetz, R-Destin.
Gaetzs hefty Jobs for Florida bill, which passed the Senate 38-0, and the House bill, sponsored by Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples, would authorize grants of as much as $250,000 for applicants that receive awards from the Small Business Innovation Research Program and Small Business Technology Transfer Program.
The Small Business Innovation Research program awards grants of as much as $850,000 to for-profit businesses in two phases over 2 1/2 years. The Small Business Technology Transfer Program awards as much as $850,000 to non-profit institutions in two phases over 2 1/2 years. The grants, administered by the federal Small Business Administration, are given to businesses with no more than 500 employees.
Its a program to help small, high-tech companies bridge the gap between idea and realization, said Gabe Sheheane, a lobbyist for the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
The proposed legislation authorizes Florida to match about $250,000 of the federal funds for projects that are headquartered in the state or hire mostly state employees. A business or project must complete the first phase of the federal grant, which analyzes the feasibility of the endeavor, to be considered for state money.
The terms of the grant are Florida first, Gaetz said.
The grants could be used to fund anything from solar energy research to innovations in cancer care, Gaetz said, and they would be essential to keep Florida from losing jobs to the North Carolina Research Triangle.
Between 2005 and 2008, 364 businesses from Florida have won the first phase of the SBIR grant, according to the SSTI Weekly Digest.
Enterprise Florida, a public-private partnership fostering business development in the state, has awarded 40 businesses as much as $3,000 each to pursue the federal grants as part of its Phase 0 program. Five of those programs been awarded at least the first phase of the grant, which pays as much as $100,000.
The Chamber of Commerce has been advocating for a state matching grant program for three years, Sheheane said. Businesses that receive the state grant will have passed the first phase of the federal grant program and be poised to produce results, so theres little risk to the state.
Neuroanalytics Corp., a small company based in Gainesville, has been given the federal grant and is projected to receive more than $850,000, according to the federal Small Business Administration Web site.
The company is developing a device that applies heat or cold to rodents' paws and measures how long it takes them to feel pain. The device would be marketed to pain medication companies and research laboratories.
Andre Mauderli, a co-owner of the company, said it would have been difficult to start the project without the grant money. Though he doesnt know if he would be eligible for the state grant, he said it would help fund prototypes and other incidentals not covered by the federal grants.
It sounds very good, he said.
Alex Tiegen, a Sunshine State News reporter, can be reached at 561-329-5389 or e-mailed at atiegen@sunshinestatenews.com
