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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to use of the governor's university research initiative |
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fund to support the commercialization of property derived from |
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research at or through public institutions of higher education. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 62.161, Education Code, as added by |
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Chapters 323 (S.B. 632) and 915 (H.B. 26), Acts of the 84th |
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Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, is amended by adding |
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Subdivision (8) to read as follows: |
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(8) "Public institution of higher education" means an |
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institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003. |
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SECTION 2. Section 62.164(a), Education Code, as added by |
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Chapters 323 (S.B. 632) and 915 (H.B. 26), Acts of the 84th |
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Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, is amended to read as follows: |
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(a) In awarding grants under Section 62.163, the office |
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shall give priority to grant proposals that involve the recruitment |
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of distinguished researchers in the fields of science, technology, |
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engineering, mathematics, and medicine. With respect to proposals |
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involving those fields, the office shall give priority to proposals |
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that demonstrate a reasonable likelihood of contributing |
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substantially to this state's national and global economic |
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competitiveness. |
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SECTION 3. Subchapter H, Chapter 62, Education Code, as |
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added by Chapters 323 (S.B. 632) and 915 (H.B. 26), Acts of the 84th |
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Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, is amended by adding Section |
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62.1645 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 62.1645. GRANT FOR PUBLIC UNIVERSITY RESEARCH |
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DEVELOPMENT WITH PRIVATE SPONSORSHIP. (a) The office may provide |
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grants to public institutions of higher education from the fund to |
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supplement other funding for projects involving the |
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commercialization of intellectual property or other property |
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derived from research developed at or through a public institution |
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of higher education. To be eligible for a grant under this section, |
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a project must be supported by funding provided by one or more |
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private entities participating in the project, in addition to any |
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funding provided by the public institution of higher education. |
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(b) The amount of a grant awarded under this section may not |
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exceed 50 percent of the total amount of investment in the project |
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provided by the applicable public institution of higher education |
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and the participating private entity or entities. |
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SECTION 4. Section 62.168, Education Code, as added by |
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Chapters 323 (S.B. 632) and 915 (H.B. 26), Acts of the 84th |
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Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, is amended to read as follows: |
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Sec. 62.168. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. (a) Before the |
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beginning of each regular session of the legislature the governor |
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shall submit to the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of |
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representatives, and the standing committees of each house of the |
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legislature with primary jurisdiction over economic development |
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and higher education matters and post on the office of the |
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governor's Internet website a report on grants made from the fund. |
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(b) For matching grants made to eligible institutions from |
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the fund under Section 62.163, the report must state [from the fund
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that states]: |
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(1) the total amount of matching funds granted by the |
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office; |
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(2) the total amount of matching funds granted to each |
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recipient institution; |
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(3) a brief description of each distinguished |
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researcher recruited by each recipient institution, including any |
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amount of external research funding that followed the distinguished |
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researcher to the institution; |
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(4) a brief description of the expenditures made from |
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the matching grant funds for each distinguished researcher; and |
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(5) when available, a brief description of each |
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distinguished researcher's contribution to the state's economic |
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competitiveness, including: |
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(A) any patents issued to the distinguished |
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researcher after accepting employment by the recipient |
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institution; and |
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(B) any external research funding, public or |
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private, obtained by the distinguished researcher after accepting |
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employment by the recipient institution. |
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(c) For grants made to public institutions of higher |
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education from the fund under Section 62.1645, the report must |
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include only the amount and purpose of each grant. |
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(d) [(a-1)] The report may not include information that is |
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made confidential by law. |
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(e) [(b)] The governor may require an eligible institution |
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that receives a matching grant under this subchapter to submit, on a |
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form the governor provides, information required to complete the |
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report. |
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SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |