Indianapolis, IN – The Indiana Technology & Innovation Association (ITIA) released its 2024 policy priorities to accelerate the Indiana innovation economy today during its annual Legislative Update event with TechPoint.

The Legislative Update brings together Indiana’s technology and innovation leaders with state legislators on Organization Day to mark the ceremonial start of the 2024 Legislative Session. This year marks the fifth anniversary of ITIA’s formation to educate and advocate for policy that advances Indiana’s technology industry.

All four caucus leaders – Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore Rod Bray, House Speaker Todd Huston, House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta and Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor – provided remarks and attended the event, along with several dozen state legislators and more than one hundred tech and innovation executives.

“In today’s economy, technology touches every industry,” said ITIA Executive Director Jennifer Hallowell. “It’s essential that Indiana embraces policy to accelerate entrepreneurship, fuel innovation, support and attract the jobs and companies of tomorrow, and prepare our workforce with the skills needed to thrive in the digital economy.” 

According to CompTIA Cyberstates 2023, Indiana’s technology industry produced 118,872 net new jobs in 2022 and generated a $16 billion economic impact on our state. The National Skills Coalition reports that 92 percent of all jobs now require digital skills.

ITIA advocates for policy across four key pillars – Talent, Capital, Place and Equity.

ITIA’s 2024 policy priorities include:

• Unlocking a second round of state investment into the Indiana Next Level Fund to further accelerate the availability of capital for Indiana companies at the growth stage.
  
  
• Tracking entrepreneurial data and encouraging new businesses to start as part of the Right to Start framework.
  
  
• Providing regulatory predictability to attract emerging digital asset mining/blockchain operations to Indiana.
  
  
• Encouraging policymaker education around AI, and advocating for balanced AI regulation that is interoperable with existing laws and regulations with a preference toward global and/or federal standards.

• Including computer science as a high school graduation requirement to ensure all Hoosier students gain the foundational skills needed to succeed in the 21st century workforce and economy.

• Creating incentives for employers or intermediaries to develop and cover core academic costs (e.g. tuition, certification exam fees, instructional materials and more) for USDOL Registered Apprenticeships and/or Indiana State Earn & Learn (SEALs) apprenticeship programs in tech and innovation fields.

The Indiana Technology & Innovation Industry (ITIA) is the statewide association representing technology and innovation-driven enterprises and partners working together to accelerate the innovation economy.

For more information and to join ITIA, visit www.IndianaTechnology.org.