By:  McCall                                            H.C.R. No. 4
       73R825 JLZ-D
                                 CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
    1-1        WHEREAS, Commercialization of innovative technologies spurs
    1-2  further innovation and economic growth, benefitting both the
    1-3  private and public sectors; and
    1-4        WHEREAS, In their endeavors to improve the delivery of
    1-5  essential state services to the people of Texas, state agency
    1-6  employees often have been at the forefront in the development,
    1-7  adaptation, and creative application of new technologies; and
    1-8        WHEREAS, Recent examples of such innovations include the
    1-9  development of a computer program by the Office of the Comptroller
   1-10  of Public Accounts that allows electronic filing of state sales tax
   1-11  returns and the development by the Texas Department of
   1-12  Transportation of a new system of materials testing using fiber
   1-13  optic technology; and
   1-14        WHEREAS, These and other technologies developed by state
   1-15  employees have the potential for wider applications in the
   1-16  marketplace, and their commercialization by the private sector
   1-17  would not only help recapture the cost of development for the state
   1-18  but would also provide additional incentive for state agencies to
   1-19  continue seeking innovation in their efforts to serve the public;
   1-20  and
   1-21        WHEREAS, The rapid pace of technological innovation has,
   1-22  however, outstripped the development of policies and procedures
   1-23  governing the transfer of and access to innovative technologies,
   1-24  and questions raised by the absence of clear and uniform policies
    2-1  and procedures threaten to impede further development and
    2-2  commercialization of emerging technologies; and
    2-3        WHEREAS, The lack of adequate guidelines to facilitate
    2-4  technology transfers between the public and private sectors raises
    2-5  potentially troublesome legal questions regarding such issues as
    2-6  ownership of intellectual property and the protection of ownership
    2-7  rights, equity ownership by state personnel who have been
    2-8  instrumental in the development of new technology, royalty
    2-9  collection and disbursement, the application of the state's open
   2-10  records and open meetings laws, and other related issues; and
   2-11        WHEREAS, The state's two principal university systems, as a
   2-12  result of a directive from the 69th Texas Legislature, began in
   2-13  1985 to develop and adopt an intellectual property policy to ensure
   2-14  intellectual property rights and to aid in technology transfer
   2-15  between their component universities and industry; the benefits of
   2-16  having a clear and concise policy governing such matters is evident
   2-17  in the subsequent increase in the number of patents applied for and
   2-18  granted since the implementation of these policies and procedures
   2-19  at the two systems; and
   2-20        WHEREAS, Although technology transfer from state agencies
   2-21  differs from that involving state universities, the examples of The
   2-22  University of Texas System and The Texas A&M University System have
   2-23  proven the benefit to be derived from the sharing of new knowledge
   2-24  with private industry and the commercialization of newly developed
   2-25  technological resources; and
   2-26        WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon this legislature, as existing
   2-27  technologies evolve and new technologies emerge, to investigate
    3-1  more fully the possibilities and ramifications inherent in the
    3-2  transfer of these technologies from the public to the private
    3-3  sector, and then to act decisively in order that the citizens of
    3-4  this state be better served by continued improvements in
    3-5  technology; now, therefore, be it
    3-6        RESOLVED, That the 73rd Legislature of the State of Texas
    3-7  hereby direct the House Committee on Science and Technology and the
    3-8  Senate Committee on Economic Development to conduct a joint interim
    3-9  study of policy issues relating to the transfer of innovative
   3-10  technologies developed by the state and its employees; and, be it
   3-11  further
   3-12        RESOLVED, That, upon concluding this joint study, the
   3-13  committees make a full report, including findings and
   3-14  recommendations and drafts of any legislation considered necessary,
   3-15  to the 74th Legislature when it convenes in January 1995.