Cuomo's fiscal 2018 budget proposal, which he revealed to the public late Tuesday, includes the first $300 million of a previously announced $650 million five-year plan to build up the state's life sciences research cluster to support biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
Another $400 million would be allocated for a second phase of the governor's Buffalo Billion plan to revitalize the city of Buffalo.
Money for both the life sciences initiative and the second phase of the Buffalo Billion will come from $1.2 billion in financial settlements that the state has struck with banks, insurance companies and automakers in recent years.
The $300 million for life sciences will include $200 million for laboratory space and high-tech equipment with another $100 million that would go to "early stage" life science companies.
There is also $150 million for what the governor calls a life sciences laboratory public health initiative that will "develop life science research, innovation, and infrastructure" in partnership with the state Department of Health.
There is $33 million in the budget for SUNY Polytechnic Institute's $135 million contribution to the $500 million Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium, a partnership with General Electric Co. to make power electronics chips using silicon carbide.
That program, which was announced in 2014, is building a pilot manufacturing line at SUNY Poly's Albany campus, and GE is expected to take space at SUNY Poly's Utica campus as well.
Of course, budget documents shows that there will still be tens of millions in disbursements of previously allocated projects that were undertaken by SUNY Poly in the past.
Cuomo also set aside $207 million in his budget for "strategic" economic development projects that support innovation, i.e. high tech, although no specific companies or sectors are mentioned.
©2017 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
