Texas Lawmaker Named BIO State Legislator of the Year
Rep. McCall was selected from among 7,000 state legislators nationwide for advocating biotechnology development and educating Texas citizens and his fellow lawmakers about the industry. The BIO award will be presented on March 8 at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The award ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. in the McDermott Administrative Building, Conference Room B-12.
BIO President Carl B. Feldbaum said, Rep. McCall’s leadership in Texas has contributed directly to the biotech industry’s progress in solving the toughest challenges our society faces in health care, agriculture, manufacturing and environmental management. We applaud his efforts to protect vital medical research and secure economic development initiatives for technology-based industries. We hope he will continue working with us in support of the vast benefits to be derived from biotechnology innovation.
Rep. McCall was instrumental this past legislative session in his support for Senate Bill 441, said Patrick Kelly, BIO’s director of state government relations. This legislation included a research and development tax credit for qualified expenditures after January 1, 2000. The R&D credit is limited to 25 percent of the corporation’s franchise tax liability, with the ability to carry forward any unused credits for up to 20 years. This type of incentive is critically important for biotechnology companies due to the protracted research and development times.
Texas is recognized as one of the leading states in medical and agricultural research. The health-care technology industry alone employs more than 50,000 people in the state. The industry is ahead of state averages for employment growth and wages, and is stimulating the creation of jobs in other sectors as well.
BIO represents more than 900 biotechnology companies, academic institutions and state biotech centers in 47 states and 26 nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of health-care, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotech products. In Texas, BIO works closely with the Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute (THBI).