Bill Text: CT SB00838 | 2013 | General Assembly | Comm Sub
Bill Title: An Act Establishing A Fund For Bioscience Innovation.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-06-04 - Senate Recommitted to Commerce [SB00838 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2013-SB00838-Comm_Sub.html
General Assembly |
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January Session, 2013 |
*_____SB00838FIN___041713____* |
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A FUND FOR BIOSCIENCE INNOVATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) For the purpose of this section and sections 2 to 4, inclusive, of this act:
(1) "Administrative costs" means the costs paid or incurred by the administrator, including, but not limited to, peer review costs, professional fees, allocated staff costs and other out-of-pocket costs attributable to the administration and operation of the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund.
(2) "Administrator" means Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, in its capacity as administrator of the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund established pursuant to section 3 of this act.
(3) "Advisory committee" means the Bioscience Innovation Advisory Committee established pursuant to section 2 of this act.
(4) "Early-stage business" means a business that has been in operation for not more than three years and is developing or testing a product or service that is (A) not yet available for commercial release, or (B) commercially available in a limited manner, including, but not limited to, market testing of prototypes and clinical trials.
(5) "Eligible recipient" means a duly accredited college or university, a nonprofit corporation or a for-profit start-up or early-stage business.
(6) "Financial assistance" means any and all forms of grants, extensions of credit, loans or loan guarantees, equity investments or other forms of financing.
(7) "Return on investment" means any and all forms of principal or interest payments, guarantee fees, returns on equity investments, royalties, options, warrants and debentures and all other forms of remuneration to the administrator in return for any financial assistance offered or provided.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) There shall be a Bioscience Innovation Advisory Committee that shall consist of the following thirteen members: (1) Four appointed by the Governor; (2) one appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; (3) one appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; (4) one appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; (5) one appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives; (6) one appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; (7) one appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives; (8) the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and the Commissioner of Public Health, or their designees, who shall serve as ex-officio, voting members; and (9) the chief executive officer and executive director of Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, who shall serve as the chairperson of the advisory committee. Each appointed member shall have skill, knowledge and experience in relevant businesses and sciences related to health care delivery, medical devices, life sciences, insurance or information technology. All initial appointments to the committee pursuant to this subsection shall be made not later than July 1, 2013. Appointed members shall each serve a term that is coterminous with the respective appointing authority. Each member shall hold office until a successor is appointed. Any vacancy occurring on the committee, other than by expiration of term, shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the balance of the unexpired term.
(b) The chairperson shall call the first meeting of the advisory committee not later than September 30, 2013. The advisory committee shall meet not less than quarterly thereafter, and at such other times as the chairperson deems necessary.
(c) No member of the advisory committee shall receive compensation for such member's services, except that each member shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred during the performance of such member's official duties.
(d) Seven members of the advisory committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business or the exercise of any power of the advisory committee. The advisory committee may act by a majority of the members present at any meeting at which a quorum is in attendance, for the transaction of any business or the exercise of any power of the advisory committee, except as otherwise provided in this section.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, it shall not constitute a conflict of interest for a trustee, director, partner, officer, manager, shareholder, proprietor, counsel or employee of an eligible recipient, or any individual with a financial interest in an eligible recipient, to serve as a member of the advisory committee, provided such trustee, director, partner, officer, manager, shareholder, proprietor, counsel, employee or individual shall abstain from deliberation, action or vote by the advisory committee in specific respect to such eligible recipient.
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund, to be held, administered, invested and disbursed by the administrator pursuant to this section. The fund shall contain any moneys required or permitted by law to be deposited in the fund and any moneys received from any public or private contributions, gifts, grants, donations, bequests or devises to the fund. Repayment of principal and interest on loans issued from the fund shall be credited to the fund and shall become part of the assets of the fund. Any balance remaining in the fund at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward in the fund for the fiscal year next succeeding.
(b) Any return on investment received by the administrator as a result of financial assistance provided from the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund to eligible recipients, or attributable to the investment of the fund by the administrator, shall be deposited and held for the use and benefit of the fund. Moneys in or received for the fund may be deposited with and invested by any institution as may be designated by the administrator at its sole discretion and paid as the administrator shall direct. The administrator may make payments from such deposit accounts for use in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(c) The Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund shall not be deemed an account within the General Fund and shall be used exclusively for the purposes provided in this section.
(d) The Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund shall be used (1) to provide financial assistance to eligible recipients as may be approved by the advisory committee pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, (2) for the repayment of state bonds in such amounts as may be required by the State Bond Commission, and (3) to pay or reimburse the administrator for administrative costs pursuant to subsection (j) of this section. Such financial assistance shall be awarded to further the development of bioscience, biomedical engineering, health information management, medical care, medical devices, medical diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, personalized medicine and other related disciplines that are likely to lead to an improvement in or development of services, therapeutics, diagnostics or devices that are commercializable and designed to advance the coordination, quality or efficiency of health care and lower health care costs, and that promise, directly or indirectly, to lead to job growth in the state in these or related fields.
(e) All expenditures from the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund, except for administrative costs reimbursed to the administrator pursuant to subsection (j) of this section and amounts required for the repayment of state bonds in such amounts as may be required by the State Bond Commission, shall be approved by the advisory committee. Any such approval shall be (1) specific to an individual expenditure to be made, (2) for budgeted expenditures with such variations as the advisory committee may authorize at the time of such budget approval, or (3) for a financial assistance program to be administered by staff of the administrator, subject to limits, eligibility requirements and other conditions established by the advisory committee at the time of such program approval.
(f) Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated shall provide any necessary staff, office space, office systems and administrative support for the operation of the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund in accordance with this section. In acting as administrator of the fund, the administrator shall have and may exercise all of the powers of Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated set forth in section 32-39 of the general statutes, provided expenditures from the fund shall be approved by the advisory committee pursuant to subsection (e) of this section.
(g) The advisory committee shall establish an application and approval process with guidelines and terms for financial assistance awarded from the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund to eligible recipients. Such guidelines and terms shall include (1) a requirement that any applicant for financial assistance shall be operating in the state, or proposing to relocate operations to the state, in whole or in part, as a condition of such financial assistance, (2) limitations on the total amount of financial assistance that may be awarded in the form of loans and grants, (3) eligibility requirements for loans and grants designed to encourage and support collaborative ventures among eligible recipients, (4) peer review requirements, (5) a process for preliminary review of applications for strength and eligibility by the administrator before such applications are presented to the advisory committee for consideration, (6) return on investment objectives, and (7) such other guidelines and terms as the advisory committee determines to be necessary and appropriate in furtherance of the objectives of this section.
(h) Financial assistance awarded from the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund to eligible recipients shall be used for costs related to facilities, necessary furniture, fixtures and equipment, materials and supplies, peer review, proof of concept or relevance, compensation, and such other costs that the advisory committee determines to be eligible for financial assistance within the purposes of this section.
(i) Beginning January 1, 2014, the administrator shall prepare for each fiscal year a plan of operations and an operating and capital budget for the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund. Not later than ninety days prior to the start of the fiscal year, the administrator shall submit the plan and budget to the advisory committee for its review and approval.
(j) Administrative costs shall be paid or reimbursed to the administrator from the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund, provided the total of such administrative costs in any fiscal year shall not exceed five per cent of the total amount of the allotted funding for such fiscal year as determined in the operating budget prepared pursuant to subsection (i) of this section. Nothing in sections 1 and 2 of this act and this section shall require the administrator to risk or expend the funds of Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated in connection with the administration of the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund.
(k) Not later than April 15, 2014, and annually thereafter, the administrator shall provide a report of the activities of the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund to the advisory committee for its review and approval. Upon its approval, the advisory committee shall provide such report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding, appropriations, commerce, public health and higher education. Such report shall contain available information on the status and progress of the operations and funding of the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund and the types, amounts and recipients of financial assistance awarded and any returns on investment.
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) The State Bond Commission shall authorize the issuance of bonds of the state, in accordance with the provisions of section 3-20 of the general statutes, in principal amounts not exceeding in the aggregate two hundred million dollars for the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund established pursuant to section 3 of this act. The amount authorized for the issuance and sale of such bonds in each of the following fiscal years shall not exceed the following corresponding amount for each such fiscal year, provided, to the extent the advisory committee does not provide for the use of all or a portion of such amount in any such fiscal year, such amount not provided for shall be carried forward and added to the authorized amount for the next succeeding fiscal year, and provided further, the costs of issuance and capitalized interest, if any, may be added to the capped amount in each fiscal year, and each of the authorized amounts shall be effective on July first of the fiscal year indicated as follows:
T1 |
Fiscal Year Ending |
Amount |
T2 |
June Thirtieth |
|
T3 |
||
T4 |
2013 |
$10,000,000 |
T5 |
2014 |
10,000,000 |
T6 |
2015 |
15,000,000 |
T7 |
2016 |
15,000,000 |
T8 |
2017 |
25,000,000 |
T9 |
2018 |
25,000,000 |
T10 |
2019 |
25,000,000 |
T11 |
2020 |
25,000,000 |
T12 |
2021 |
25,000,000 |
T13 |
2022 |
25,000,000 |
T14 |
||
T15 |
Total |
$200,000,000 |
(b) The State Bond Commission shall approve a memorandum of understanding between the administrator and the state, acting by and through the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and the Treasurer, providing for the issuance of said bonds for the purposes of the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund, including provisions regarding the extent to which federal, private or other moneys then available or thereafter to be made available for costs should be added to the proceeds of the bonds authorized pursuant to this section for such project or program. The memorandum of understanding shall be deemed to satisfy the provisions of section 3-20 of the general statutes and the exercise of any right or power granted thereby that is not inconsistent with the provisions of this section.
(c) All provisions of section 3-20 of the general statutes, or the exercise of any right or power granted thereby, that are not inconsistent with the provisions of this section are hereby adopted and shall apply to all bonds authorized by the State Bond Commission pursuant to this section. Temporary notes in anticipation of the money to be derived from the sale of any such bonds so authorized may be issued in accordance with said section, and from time to time renewed. All bonds issued pursuant to this section shall be general obligations of the state and the full faith and credit of the state of Connecticut are pledged for the payment of the principal of and interest on said bonds as the same become due, and accordingly and as part of the contract of the state with the holders of said bonds, appropriation of all amounts necessary for punctual payment of such principal and interest is hereby made, and the Treasurer shall pay such principal and interest as the same become due.
(d) Subject to the amount of limitations of the capping provisions in subsection (a) of this section, the principal amount of the bonds authorized under this section shall be deemed to be an appropriation and allocation of such amount, and such approval of such request shall be deemed the allotment by the Governor of such capital outlays within the meaning of section 4-85 of the general statutes.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
from passage |
New section |
Sec. 2 |
from passage |
New section |
Sec. 3 |
from passage |
New section |
Sec. 4 |
from passage |
New section |
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In the introductory provision of section 1, "2 and 3" was changed to "2 to 4, inclusive," for statutory consistency.
CE |
Joint Favorable C/R |
FIN |
FIN |
Joint Favorable Subst.-LCO |