Am.
H.B. 381
127th General Assembly
(As Passed by the General Assembly)
Reps. Webster, Hottinger, Bacon, Bolon, Boyd, Budish, Chandler, Coley, Flowers, Hite, Jones, Mecklenborg, Patton, Sears, Strahorn, Batchelder, Beatty, Brady, Celeste, Combs, DeBose, DeGeeter, Distel, Dolan, Domenick, Driehaus, Dyer, Evans, Fende, Foley, Gibbs, Goyal, R. Hagan, Harwood, Heard, Hughes, Letson, Luckie, Lundy, J. McGregor, R. McGregor, Okey, Schindel, Schneider, Setzer, D. Stewart, Sykes, Szollosi, B. Williams, S. Williams, Wolpert, Yates, Yuko
Sens. Cates, Sawyer, Padgett, Amstutz, Boccieri, Cafaro, Fedor, Harris, D. Miller, R. Miller, Morano, Roberts, Schaffer, Schuring, Seitz, Smith, Spada, Wagoner, Wilson, Stivers, Faber
Effective date: May 14, 2008
ACT SUMMARY
· Increases the funds available to the Ohio Research Scholars Program.
· Permits a nonpublic four-year Ohio institution of higher education to submit a proposal to the Program to recruit scientists to the institution's faculty if the proposal is to be implemented in collaboration with a state college or university.
· Decreases funding to the Research Incentive Program and repeals the Eminent Scholars Program.
CONTENT AND OPERATION
(Sections 1 to 4 and 6)
Under continuing law, the Chancellor of the Board of Regents is required to establish and administer the Ohio Research Scholars Program to "make awards to state universities or colleges for programs and initiatives that recruit students and scientists in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine to state universities or colleges, in order to enhance regional educational and economic strengths and meet the needs of the state's regional economies."[1] The act increases funding to the Program up to $12 million in fiscal year 2008 and up to $13 million in fiscal year 2009. It also provides that capital funds of up to $3 million of the total amount that was appropriated in the most recent capital appropriations act for the Research Facility Action and Investment Funds (RFAIF) appropriation item must be spent to support the Program. Any portion of that money used for capital projects under the Program is subject to Program rules and not RFAIF rules.
Under continuing law, a state university or college that receives an award under the Program is required to deposit the amount into a new or existing endowment fund. The act provides that, notwithstanding that law, an institution of higher education that receives an award under the Program does not have to deposit the award into an endowment fund, unless the award was funded by the original GRF appropriation made in the last biennial operating budget (Am. Sub. H.B. 119 of the 127th General Assembly). The act states that the grant agreement must specify, if applicable, the portion of the award that is required to be deposited in an endowment fund and the portion that is restricted for capital projects.
Under continuing law, Program awards are granted only to state universities and colleges. The law also provides that an award may be granted for a collaborative project between a state university or college and a nonpublic Ohio university or college or other public or private Ohio entity. It does not clearly permit a nonpublic university, intending to collaborate with a state university or college, to apply directly for awards under the Program.
The act clarifies that a nonpublic four-year Ohio institution of higher education may submit a proposal to the Program to recruit scientists to the faculty of the nonpublic institution if the proposal is to be implemented in collaboration with a state university or college. It requires that the nonpublic institution comply with all legal requirements that would otherwise apply to a state university or college recipient under the Program.
(Sections 1 and 2)
Under continuing law, the Research Incentive Program is administered by the Board of Regents and is designed to enhance basic research capabilities of public colleges and universities and accredited Ohio institutions of higher learning in order to strengthen academic research for pursuing Ohio's economic development goals. The act decreases the funds available to the Program by $12 million in both fiscal years 2008 and 2009 through a combination of earmark elimination and fund shifting.
(Sections 1, 2, and 5)
Under prior law, the Board of Regents administered the Eminent Scholars Program, which program had the purpose of investing educational resources to address problems of vital statewide significance while fostering the growth in eminence of Ohio's academic programs. It funded endowed chairs at, and endowment grants to, Ohio colleges and universities to recruit scholar-leaders of national or international prominence. The act repeals this program and its $1 million earmark for fiscal year 2009.
HISTORY
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ACTION |
DATE |
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Introduced |
11-07-07 |
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Reported, H. Finance & Appropriations |
02-21-08 |
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Passed House (93-1) |
03-11-08 |
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Reported, S. Finance & Financial Institutions |
04-16-08 |
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Passed Senate (32-0) |
04-22-08 |
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House concurred in Senate amendments (94-1) |
04-30-08 |
08-hb381-127.doc/kl