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TO AMEND SECTION 2-75-5, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS CONCERNING RESEARCH CENTERS OF ECONOMIC EXCELLENCE, SO AS TO REVISE REFERENCES AS TO SOURCES OF FUNDS FOR ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS; TO AMEND SECTION 2-75-30, RELATING TO CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE MATCHING ENDOWMENT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT INTEREST EARNINGS OF THE ENDOWMENT MAY BE USED FOR PROGRAMMATIC SUPPORT IN ACCORDANCE WITH BOARD POLICIES AND GUIDELINES; TO AMEND SECTION 2-75-50, RELATING TO APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS, SO AS TO REVISE THE FUNDING DOCUMENTATION AN APPLICATION MUST CONTAIN; TO AMEND SECTION 2-75-90, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO MEETING MATCHING REQUIREMENT WITH PRIVATE OR FEDERAL FUNDS, SO AS TO DELETE OBSOLETE LANGUAGE; BY ADDING SECTION 2-75-100 SO AS TO ALLOW SENIOR RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES TO UTILIZE A PORTION OF NONSTATE MATCHING FUNDS TO PAY FOR INITIAL OPERATING COSTS; AND BY ADDING SECTION 2-75-110 SO AS TO ALLOW THESE UNIVERSITIES TO ACCEPT AND APPLY CASH EQUIVALENT AND IN-KIND DONATIONS FROM NONSTATE SOURCES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 2-75-5 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 2-75-5. (A) This chapter is known and may be cited as the 'South Carolina Research Centers of Economic Excellence Act'.
(B) The General Assembly finds that:
(1) it is in the public interest to create incentives for the senior research universities of South Carolina consisting of Clemson University, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the University of South Carolina to raise capital from the private sector to fund endowments for professorships in research areas targeted to create well-paying jobs and enhanced economic opportunities for the people of South Carolina;
(2) these endowed professorships should be used to recruit and maintain leading scientists and engineers at the senior research universities of South Carolina for the purposes of developing and leveraging the research capabilities of the universities for the creation of well-paying jobs and enhanced economic opportunities in knowledge-based industries for all South Carolinians;
(3) in communities across the United States in which better paying jobs and enhanced economic development in knowledge-based industries has flourished, the local or state government has created incentives and made a long-term commitment to public and private funding for a significant number of endowments for professorships in targeted knowledge-based industries;
(4) the South Carolina Education Lottery provides a source of funding and an incentive for the senior research universities to raise, in dollar-for-dollar matching amounts, sums from private nonstate sources sufficient to create endowed professorships;
(5) these endowed professorships should be awarded to the senior research universities through a competitive application process, provided that the competitive process must encourage the senior research universities to submit cooperative applications with one another as well as in cooperation with other institutions of higher education; and
(6) these endowed professorships, funded equally from the South Carolina Education Lottery and from other private nonstate sources, provide a foundation for the creation of centers of economic excellence."
SECTION 2. Section 2-75-30 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"There is created the Centers of Excellence Matching Endowment. The endowment must be funded annually by appropriations from the South Carolina Education Lottery Account in an aggregate amount not to exceed $200,000,000 by 2010. The fund must be managed by the State Treasurer, subject to awards from the endowment as provided in this chapter. Interest earnings of the endowment must remain in the fund and may be used for programmatic support in accordance with the policies and guidelines established by the board."
SECTION 3. Section 2-75-50 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"An application for an award from the endowment shall:
(1) provide to the board documentation of private nonstate matching funds, on hand, and received cash equivalent and in-kind donations in an amount equal to the amount for which application is made;
(2) provide to the board documentation that all matching funds and cash equivalent and in-kind donations have been committed and raised exclusively from sources other than South Carolina tax dollars, and that the funds have been committed and raised after January 1, 2002;
(3) be in an amount of not less than two million dollars and not more than five million dollars;
(4) document that the application has significant potential to provide for enhanced economic development for the citizens of South Carolina in a specified knowledge-based industry or field of commerce; and
(5) provide specific partnering activities with other institutions, businesses, or the community."
SECTION 4. Section 2-75-90 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 187 of 2004, is amended to read:
"Section 2-75-90. (A) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 2-75-05(B)(4) and (6) and 2-75-50, To meet the endowed professorships matching requirement of those provisions, a research university may use funds specifically provided for use in the areas provided in subsection (B) that are derived from private or federal government sources, excluding state appropriations to the institution, tuition, or fees. Subject to the restrictions in subsection (B), only federal dollars received after July 1, 2003, may be used to meet the endowed professorships matching requirement.
(B) The matching funds in subsection (A) may be used only in the areas of Engineering, Nanotechnology, Biomedical Sciences, Energy Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Information and Management Sciences, and for other sciences and research that create well-paying jobs and enhanced economic opportunities for the people of South Carolina and that are approved by the Research Centers of Excellence Review Board."
SECTION 5. Chapter 75, Title 2 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 2-75-100. (A) The board may, at its discretion, permit the senior research universities to utilize a portion of the nonstate matching funds of any single award to pay for initial operating costs, including but not limited to infrastructure improvement, purchase of equipment, and payment of salaries for junior faculty, researchers, technicians, and other support staff directly associated with the establishment of the professorship's research efforts and the creation of the center of economic excellence which the professorship serves. The portion established by the board must apply equally to all of the senior research universities' centers of economic excellence and endowed professorships created under this act. The portion established by the board may be modified by the board in order to facilitate program success.
(B) The full amount of every state award, with the exception of programmatic support proposals, must be placed into and remain in endowment. Should a center of economic excellence be dissolved, withdrawn, or otherwise terminated, the entirety of the state award which has been drawn by the institution must be returned to the Centers of Excellence Matching Endowment."
SECTION 6. Chapter 75, Title 2 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 2-75-110. In addition to accepting and applying nonstate funds, as stipulated in Section 2-75-90(A), to meet the matching requirement of each state award, a senior research university may accept and apply cash equivalent and in-kind donations from nonstate sources. Such donations must directly impact and promote the research of the endowed professorship and the center of economic excellence which the professorship serves. Such donations may include, but are not limited to, donated or rent-discounted laboratory, and research facility space; buildings, including sale-lease back; equipment; furnishings; and infrastructure upgrades. The value of each cash equivalent or in-kind donations must be determined using standard accounting methods and a cost share accounting policy established by the board. The total value of cash equivalent and in-kind donations applicable per award may not exceed the portion of nonstate matching funds available for non-endowment use established by the board. Cash equivalent and in-kind donations may only be applied if received by a senior research university after July 1, 2002."
SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
This web page was last updated on Monday, June 22, 2009 at 2:53 P.M.