| TO: | Honorable Chris Harris, Chair, Senate Committee on Economic Development |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB783 by Shapiro (Relating to the Texas emerging technology fund. ), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted |
The bill would implement a recommendation in the Legislative Budget Board Government Effectiveness and Efficiency Report entitled “Improve Accountability for the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.”
The bill would require the governor to submit an annual report which shows the actual performance of the Emerging Technology Fund (ETF) in terms of private investment and federal grants or loans received by award recipients. Information would be provided in the report about the aggregate planned and actual outcomes resulting from awards made during the last two fiscal years. The annual report would identify the awards made from the ETF to each recipient, as well as the total award amounts provided under the commercialization, matching, and research superiority programs.
The annual report would contain information about the ETF’s investment portfolio, specifically: a brief description of the investments in the portfolio, the value of each investment, and the portfolio’s total value as of the reporting period’s ending date. The governor would be required to submit the annual report to the Legislative Budget Board and post it on the office of the governor's website. Once posted, the governor would be required to send email messages to members of the legislature that provide an electronic copy of the report and a link to report on the office of governor's website.
The governor would be required to submit the first annual report no later than January 1, 2011.
The bill would allow the governor to obtain assistance from an outside entity in negotiating contracts with award recipients; and to oversee and monitor contracts, prepare the aforementioned annual report; and provide ETF investment portfolio advice and evaluation. The outside entity would receive compensation from the ETF.
The bill would alter the allocations for commercialization, research matching, and research superiority programs to 60 percent, 10 percent, and 30 percent, respectively, from 50 percent, 16.67 percent, and 33.33 percent of the fund’s appropriation (less administrative costs). The governor would still be able to adjust allocations with prior approval of the lieutenant governor and speaker of the house of representatives.
The bill would amend relevant law such that an award to an applicant is deemed approved if after 60 days from date they receive an award proposal from the governor, the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives do not disapprove it.
Finally, the bill contains provisions making certain information related to award recipients confidential, requiring the governor to make award contract summaries available to the public, and specifying additional entities from which research superiority for
| Source Agencies: | 301 Office of the Governor
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, JRO, JI, RN, BTA
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