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