Technology and Innovation

The Tech and Innovation Committee advocates for federal, state, and local policies and programs that promote technological innovation and scientific advancements. Committee members are drawn from every industry cluster of the Leadership Group membership, including tech, bio/pharma, financial institutions, and research organizations.

Meetings are generally held the fourth Monday of the month from 2:30 pm – 4:00pm at Allied Telesis (3041 Orchard Parkway, San Jose, CA).

Meetings generally include speaker presentations from legislators, non-profits, and other policy organizations.

We discuss and take votes on policy positions for the Leadership Group around our top five priorities:

• Cybersecurity
• Scientific Research Funding
• Autonomous Vehicles
• Artificial Intelligence
• Immigration

Ash Padwal, Allied Telesis

• Allied Telesis
• Apple
• AT&T
• Becton Dickinson (BD)
• Cadence
• Cisco Systems
• Comcast
• eBay
• Echelon
• Huawei
• Johnson & Johnson
• Lockheed Martin
• Lyft
• RSM
• Stanford University
• Seagate
• Silicon Valley Bank
• TechCU
• Texas Instruments
• University of California, Berkeley
• Verizon
• Tinfoil Security

Staff Lead: Peter Leroe-Muñoz, Vice President of Technology and Innovation Policy

Executive Champion: Ash Padwal, Allied Telesis

Priority: The Leadership Group advocates for data privacy standards that protect consumers and enable continued innovation. We support a federal data protection standard that avoids duplicative or inconsistent state regulations. We also encourage legislators to implement industry-led privacy practices. We also promote the practice of assessing risk based on the likelihood and severity of a breach, while determining what constitutes an acceptable level of residual risk.

Quantifiable Goals:

• Meet with twelve congressional representatives and/or their offices to advocate for a a single federal data protection standard that incorporates the elements above
• Meet with twelve state legislators to advocate that any data privacy legislation include the elements above
• Work with member companies to devise a sample risk assessment that can be provided to state and federal legislators
• Work with member companies to define what constitutes an acceptable level of residual risk

Staff Lead: Peter Leroe-Muñoz, Vice President of Technology and Innovation Policy

Executive Champion: Ash Padwal, Allied Telesis; Ainsley Braun, Tinfoil Security

Priority: The Leadership Group promotes public-private solutions to security challenges, including advocacy for a Cyber National Guard, working to increase government funding for cyber workforce training, and promoting flexible, industry-led security standards.

Quantifiable Goals:

• Seek increased federal and state funding for cybersecurity workforce training
• Support legislation increasing security resources for SMEs
• Advocate for a Cyber National Guard with elected federal officials
  • Partner with the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity to grow this plan
  • Meet with five elected officials/staff to propose and discuss issue
  • Draft cyber-specific collateral for meetings with elected officials
  • Present elected officials with information from member companies endorsing a Cyber National Guard
  • Assist congressional leaders with substance of a bill for the Cyber National Guard

Staff Lead: Peter Leroe-Muñoz, Vice President of Technology and Innovation Policy

Executive Champion: George Blumenthal, Chancellor, UC Santa Cruz; Michelle Moskowitz, Director of Advocacy and Institutional Relations, UC Berkeley

Priority: The Tech and Innovation Committee advocates for increased federal funding for early-stage research, and educates legislators about the risks of falling behind global competitors in an “innovation deficit.” Early-stage research enables scientific discovery, and the commercialization of technological advancement. It fuels job growth and is the engine for our Innovation Economy.

Quantifiable Goals:

• Advocate for increased federal research funding
  • Meet with twelve congressional representatives and/or staff for advocacy
• Educate legislators and the public about the economic impact of research funding to their respective districts
  • Provide each representative with the economic impact of research funding to their district
• Educate legislators and the public about the risks of an “innovation deficit”
  • Draft an op-ed about the declining rates of US funding, relative to global competitors

Staff Lead: Peter Leroe-Muñoz, Vice President of Technology and Innovation, Paul Escobar, Sr. Director of Tech and Education Policy

Executive Champion: TBD.

Priority: The Tech and Innovation Committee advocates for a regulatory environment that promotes expeditious testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles. Central to this effort is educating legislators and the general public about the potential economic and social benefits of autonomous vehicles, while addressing concerns people may have about these innovations.

Quantifiable Goals:

• Educate legislators and general public about social and economic benefits of autonomous vehicles
  • Host roundtables with legislators and member companies around autonomous technology
• Address concerns people may have about autonomous vehicles: safety, job displacement, cybersecurity, etc.
  • draft two Op-eds, each around a particular concern of autonomous vehicles
• Support legislation enabling expeditious testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles
  • Engage in DMV regulation process for commercial vehicles
  • Monitor and review both state and federal legislation
    • E.g., AV START ACT (Senate)
    • E.g., SELF-DRIVE ACT (House)
  • Support legislation calling for national standards of AV technology and safety
  • Oppose regulations that create a patchwork of regulations among different states and within California
• Build relationships with relevant regulatory agencies
  • Host a roundtable with DMV or representatives of relevant California agencies

Staff Lead: Peter Leroe-Muñoz, Vice President of Technology and Innovation Policy

Executive Champion: Suresh Babu, CEO, Tiquant

Priority: AI is a field of technology that has the potential to be utilized in many different industries, including the government. As such, there is great economic potential for growth for our member companies who work in this space. At the Leadership Group we encourage the government to support the development of AI technology, and an AI-capable workforce.

Quantifiable Goals:

• Encourage the government to increase funding for the research and development of AI technology
  • Add AI R&D to the collateral for existing Scientific Research Funding
  • Meet with twelve representatives and/or staff to discuss AI funding
• Advocate that the government integrate AI technology into their operations
  • Draft two Op-eds, each around a particular concern of autonomous vehicles
• Support legislation enabling expeditious testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles
  • Identify government agencies best-positioned to utilize AI in their operations for improvements in transparency and efficiency
  • Present possible use of AI to those government agencies
• Promote AI education as a component of workforce development
  • Communicate with CA Advisory Board regarding K-12 standards and AI

Staff Lead: Peter Leroe-Muñoz, Vice President of Technology and Innovation Policy

Executive Champion: James Gutierrez, CEO, Insikt; Mike Galarza, CEO, Entryless

Priority: Our member companies often face a lack of skilled tech workers within the domestic labor pool. As such, many members rely on immigration as a means of filling tech jobs. Immigration reform, and the solutions we propose, will help meet the immediate need for skilled workers, while also helping to grow a domestic tech workforce. That is why we advocate for open and inclusive immigration policies which encourage attracting and retaining global tech talent. This includes comprehensive immigration reform, increasing the cap on H-1B Visas, supporting domestic STEM programs with visa fees, and preserving DACA, among other policies.

Quantifiable Goals:

• Meet with twelve congressional representatives and/or their offices to advocate for reform
• Create immigration-specific collateral which highlights the economic benefits of immigration within each district
• Support legislation that is similar to iSquared legislation introduced in past Congressional session
• Offer five media interviews on why immigration reform is vital to Silicon Valley

Successfully opposed AB 1681 (Smartphone decryption).

Successfully opposed AB 1760 (Opt-in for use of data).

Successfully opposed SB 561 (Consumer Right of Action for CCPA).

Promoted Cyber National Reserve to over 15 Congressional/Senate representatives, including DHS Committee Chair (past) Michael McCaul.

Hosted Health Cyber Summit in 2017 and 2018 to bring policymakers, healthcare professionals, and security experts together to address unique challenges within healthcare.

Member roundtable with Adm. Michael Rogers, NSA Director.

25 Congressional meetings to advocate for increased funding.

Funding increases:

• NIST +$247M
• NSF +$295M
• NIH +$3B

Coalition partner with Business for Federal Research Funding.

Op-ed calling for increased funding (Silicon Valley Business Journal).

Roundtable with National Science Foundation Director, Frances Córdova.

Personal meetings with CA Assembly Tech Caucus Co-Chairs, Asm. Calderon and Asm. Low.

Advised Little Hoover Institute on AI policy recommendations for Governor Newsom.

Presented on AI policy implications to US-India Business Council.

Media interviews on importance of immigration to Innovation Economy:

• Innovation Economy & immigration – SF Chronicle
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) – Univision
• Chinese Visa Limitations – CGTN
• Silicon Valley Competitors – CGTN
• H-4 Visa Limits and Impacts – KTVU
• H-1B Visas – SF Chronicle

Continued advocacy for Comprehensive Immigration Reform during D.C. Advocacy Trip.

Radio town-hall with US Trade Ambassador Michael Froman.

Op-ed supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership –  Mercury News.

Op-ed urging end to US-China trade conflict – CALmatters.

Roundtable with Singaporean Ambassador.