By: Shapiro S.B. No. 783
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Texas emerging technology fund, including transfers
between the fund and the Texas Enterprise Fund.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 490.057, Government Code, is transferred
to Subchapter A, Chapter 490, Government Code, renumbered as
Section 490.004, Government Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 490.004 [490.057]. CERTAIN INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL
[CONFIDENTIALITY]. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), this
section applies to information in any form provided by or on behalf
of an individual or entity being considered for an award from the
fund or a recipient of an award from the fund, including:
(1) information contained in, accompanying, or
derived from any application; and
(2) information [Information collected by the
governor's office, the committee, or the committee's advisory
panels] concerning the identity, background, finance, marketing
plans, trade secrets, or other commercially or academically
sensitive information of the [an] individual or entity [being
considered for an award from the fund is confidential unless the
individual or entity consents to disclosure of the information].
(b) The information described by Subsection (a) collected,
assembled, or maintained by or for the governor, the lieutenant
governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the
committee, or the committee's advisory panels is confidential and
may not be disclosed under Chapter 552.
(c) Any application for an award from the fund that is
withdrawn by the applicant before the award is made or that is
denied shall be returned to the applicant promptly on request,
together with all materials submitted by or on behalf of the
applicant that relate to the application, except that a record of
the submission and disposition of the application that does not
include any information described by Subsection (a) may be
retained.
(d) Not later than the 10th business day after the date a
contract for an award from the fund is entered into under Section
490.101, the governor's office shall prepare a summary of the
contract and shall make the summary available to the public. The
summary must include the award recipient's name and address, the
amount of funding applied for, and the type of emerging technology
to which the award relates. The summary must not include any
confidential information.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 490, Government Code, is
amended by adding Sections 490.005 and 490.006 to read as follows:
Sec. 490.005. AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT WITH AN OUTSIDE ENTITY.
(a) In this section, "investment portfolio" means the stocks or
other securities of the fund that:
(1) are held by the governor from time to time; and
(2) were received by the governor in consideration for
an award made from the fund under Subchapter D.
(b) The governor may contract with an outside entity to:
(1) assist in the negotiation and drafting of
contracts between the governor and a recipient of an award under
this chapter;
(2) oversee outstanding awards and monitor compliance
with a contract described by Subdivision (1);
(3) evaluate the fund's investment portfolio;
(4) advise the office of the governor regarding the
value and performance of the investment portfolio; and
(5) assist the governor in preparing the annual report
required by Section 490.006.
(c) A contract described by Subsection (b) may provide for
the outside entity to receive compensation from the fund each year.
(d) An outside entity with which the governor contracts
under this section must have substantial experience in evaluating
institutional investment practices and performance in order to
evaluate fund investment practices and performance.
Sec. 490.006. ANNUAL REPORT. (a) In this section,
"investment portfolio" has the meaning assigned by Section 490.005.
(b) Not later than January 1 of each year, the governor
shall submit to the Legislative Budget Board and post on the office
of the governor's Internet website a report that includes the
following information regarding the fund for the preceding state
fiscal year:
(1) the total number and amount of awards made;
(2) the number and amount of awards made under
Subchapters D, E, and F;
(3) the name of each award recipient, the recipient's
organizational structure, and the amount of the awards made to the
recipient;
(4) the total amount of funds received by each
recipient from any source for a project that receives an award under
Subchapter D, including:
(A) the amount awarded to the recipient from the
fund;
(B) the total amount of any funds received by the
recipient from the private sector; and
(C) the amount of any federal grants or loans
received by the recipient;
(5) a brief description of the investments that
constitute the fund's investment portfolio as of the end of that
reporting period; and
(6) the total value of the fund's investment portfolio
as of the end of that reporting period.
(c) The annual report must also include aggregate
information regarding the planned and actual outcomes resulting
from awards made from the fund during the preceding two state fiscal
years.
(d) The governor may not disclose in the report required by
this section the name of any person in the private sector that
invests in a project receiving an award under Subchapter D.
(e) The governor shall notify each member of the legislature
by electronic mail when a new report required by this section is
posted on the office of the governor's Internet website. The
notification required by this subsection must be sent to the
electronic mail address provided to the member as a legislator and
must:
(1) contain an electronic copy of the report; or
(2) include an electronic link to the report on the
website.
SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 490.102, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) Money appropriated to the fund by the legislature, less
amounts necessary to administer the fund under Section 490.055,
shall be allocated as follows:
(1) 60 [50] percent of the money for incentives for
collaboration between certain entities as provided by Subchapter D;
(2) 10 [16.67] percent of the money for research award
matching as provided by Subchapter E; and
(3) 30 [33.33] percent of the money for acquisition of
research superiority as provided by Subchapter F.
SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 490, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 490.104 to read as follows:
Sec. 490.104. TRANSFERS BETWEEN TEXAS EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
FUND AND TEXAS ENTERPRISE FUND. Notwithstanding any other law,
including an appropriations act, the governor may not, without the
prior written approval of the Legislative Budget Board:
(1) make an award or transfer otherwise authorized by
law from the Texas emerging technology fund to the Texas Enterprise
Fund under Section 481.078 for purposes of making a grant or other
expenditure from the Texas Enterprise Fund; or
(2) make a grant or transfer otherwise authorized by
law from the Texas Enterprise Fund to the Texas emerging technology
fund for purposes of making an award or other expenditure from the
Texas emerging technology fund.
SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 490.253, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The committee shall review and consider proposals by
public institutions of higher education for:
(1) creating new research superiority;
(2) attracting existing research superiority from
institutions of higher education not located in this state [and
other research entities]; [or]
(3) attracting existing research superiority from
entities other than institutions of higher education, whether those
entities are located in or outside this state;
(4) enhancing existing research superiority by
attracting from institutions of higher education located outside
this state additional researchers and resources; or
(5) enhancing existing research superiority by
attracting additional researchers and resources from entities
other than institutions of higher education, whether those entities
are located in or outside this state.
SECTION 6. Not later than January 1, 2011, the governor
shall submit the initial report required by Section 490.006,
Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.