Governors really like biotechnology and life sciences, it seems. Politically, it’s not hard to put a positive spin on life-saving drugs. And it’s an industry that generates high-paying jobs.

So the biotech industry has learned to work well with politicians and to reward them when they do good things for them. Yesterday, at the annual BIO conference in San Diego, Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick was named BIO Governor of the Year.

Just the day before, Patrick signed into law the $1 billion biotech bill, which he first unveiled at last year’s conference in Boston. It includes $250 million in tax breaks for companies and $250 million for research grants and fellowships.

But hold on. I think we might have a candidate for next year’s governor of the year award. Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley recently announced a $1.1 billion plan for the life sciences in his state. Take that, Patrick!