HB 0131

CS

CHAMBER ACTION

1	The Colleges & Universities Committee recommends the following:
2
3	Council/Committee Substitute
4	Remove the entire bill and insert:
5	A bill to be entitled
6	An act relating to centers of excellence; creating s.
7	1004.226, F.S.; defining the term "center of excellence";
8	providing purposes and objectives of centers of
9	excellence; creating the Emerging Technology Commission in
10	the Executive Office of the Governor and providing
11	membership thereof; requiring the commission to develop
12	and approve criteria for evaluating proposals for
13	establishing or expanding centers of excellence; providing
14	requirements for such proposals; requiring submission of a
15	plan recommending the establishment or expansion of
16	centers of excellence and approval of a final plan;
17	requiring semiannual reporting; providing appropriations;
18	providing an effective date.
19
20	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22	Section 1.  Section 1004.226, Florida Statutes, is created
23	to read:
24	1004.226  Florida technology development; centers of
25	excellence.--
26	(1)  The term "center of excellence," as used in this
27	section, means an organization of personnel, facilities, and
28	equipment established at or in collaboration with one or more
29	universities in Florida to accomplish the purposes and
30	objectives set forth in this section. The purposes and
31	objectives of a center of excellence include:
32	(a)  Identifying and pursuing opportunities for university
33	scholars, research center scientists and engineers, and private
34	businesses to form collaborative partnerships to foster and
35	promote the research required to develop commercially promising,
36	advanced, and innovative technologies and to transfer those
37	technologies to commercial sectors.
38	(b)  Acquiring and leveraging public and private sector
39	funding to provide the totality of funds, personnel, facilities,
40	equipment, and other resources needed to support the research
41	required to develop commercially promising, advanced, and
42	innovative technologies and to transfer those technologies to
43	commercial sectors.
44	(c)  Recruiting and retaining world class scholars, high-
45	performing students, and leading scientists and engineers in
46	technology disciplines to engage in research in this state to
47	develop commercially promising, advanced, and innovative
48	technologies.
49	(d)  Enhancing and expanding technology curricula and
50	laboratory resources at universities in this state.
51	(e)  Increasing the number of high-performing students in
52	technology disciplines who graduate from universities in this
53	state and pursue careers in this state.
54	(f)  Stimulating and supporting the inception, growth, and
55	diversification of technology-based businesses and ventures in
56	Florida and increasing employment opportunities for the
57	workforce needed to support such businesses.
58	(2)  The Emerging Technology Commission is created within
59	the Executive Office of the Governor to guide the establishment
60	of centers of excellence.
61	(a)  The commission shall consist of five regular members
62	appointed by the Governor, one of whom the Governor shall
63	appoint as chair of the commission; two regular members
64	appointed by the President of the Senate; two regular members
65	appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; the
66	Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee, as an
67	ex officio nonvoting member; and, as ex officio nonvoting
68	members, the member of the Senate and the member of the House of
69	Representatives who serve as members of Florida Research
70	Consortium, Inc. The regular members shall be business leaders,
71	industrial researchers, academic researchers, scientists, or
72	engineers who have been recognized as leaders in the state's
73	emerging and advanced technology sectors. A regular member of
74	the commission may not serve for more than 4 years. Any vacancy
75	that occurs during the term of a regular member of the
76	commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original
77	appointment.
78	(b)  Members of the commission shall serve without
79	compensation but shall be entitled to receive per diem and
80	travel expenses in accordance with s. 112.061 while in
81	performance of their duties.
82	(c)  The Executive Office of the Governor shall provide
83	staff support for the activities of the commission and per diem
84	and travel expenses for commission members.
85	(3)(a)  By September 1, 2005, the Emerging Technology
86	Commission shall develop, in consultation with Florida Research
87	Consortium, Inc., and approve criteria for evaluating proposals
88	for establishing or expanding one or more centers of excellence
89	under this section.
90	(b)  By September 15, 2005, the commission shall provide a
91	list of the approved criteria to each university in the state
92	and to the State Technology Office for publishing on the
93	Internet.
94	(4)(a)  The Emerging Technology Commission shall notify the
95	president of each university in the state, in writing, of the
96	opportunity to submit to the commission a written proposal for
97	establishing a center of excellence under this section or
98	expanding a center of excellence designated under former s.
99	1004.225. This section does not prevent a university that is the
100	site of a center of excellence designated under former s.
101	1004.225 from submitting a proposal to establish a new center of
102	excellence or to expand the existing center of excellence
103	designated under former s. 1004.225.
104	(b)  A proposal from a university must be submitted to the
105	commission before November 1, 2005.
106	(c)  A proposal must specifically address the evaluation
107	criteria developed by the commission and specify how funding
108	would be used to establish or expand a center of excellence.
109	(5)  By January 1, 2006, the Emerging Technology Commission
110	shall submit to the State Board of Education a plan recommending
111	the establishment or expansion of one or more centers of
112	excellence under this section. The plan required by this
113	subsection must specifically address the evaluation criteria
114	developed by the commission and specify how funding would be
115	used to establish or expand each center of excellence.
116	(6)(a)  By February 15, 2006, the State Board of Education
117	shall develop and approve a final plan for establishing or
118	expanding one or more centers of excellence under this section
119	and shall authorize expenditures for implementing the plan. The
120	final plan approved by the State Board of Education for the
121	establishment or expansion of one or more centers of excellence
122	must provide for the allocation of at least $10 million to each
123	center of excellence established or expanded under the plan.
124	(b)  The final plan may provide for:
125	1.  Designating one or more centers of excellence, which
126	shall be in addition to any centers of excellence designated
127	under former s. 1004.225;
128	2.  Expanding one or more of the centers of excellence
129	designated under former s. 1004.225; or
130	3.  Designating one or more new centers of excellence and
131	expanding one or more of the centers of excellence designated
132	under former s. 1004.225.
133	(c)  The final plan must include performance and
134	accountability measures that can be used to assess the progress
135	of plan implementation and the success of each center of
136	excellence that receives funding under the final plan. By March
137	1, 2006, the State Board of Education shall provide a copy of
138	the final plan to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and
139	the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
140	(7)  Beginning July 1, 2006, the Emerging Technology
141	Commission shall report semiannually, in writing, to the State
142	Board of Education on the progress in implementing the final
143	plan approved under subsection (6) and the success of each
144	center of excellence that receives funding under that plan.
145	Section 2.  The sum of $50,000 is appropriated from the
146	General Revenue Fund to the Executive Office of the Governor for
147	fiscal year 2005-2006 for the purpose of providing staff and
148	administrative support to the Emerging Technology Commission,
149	created under s. 1004.226, Florida Statutes, and per diem and
150	travel expenses for commission members.
151	Section 3.  The sum of $50 million is appropriated from the
152	General Revenue Fund to the Department of Education for fiscal
153	year 2005-2006 for the purpose of establishing one or more
154	additional centers of excellence or expanding one or more
155	existing centers of excellence pursuant to s. 1004.226, Florida
156	Statutes.
157	Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.