SB1270 - 452R - House Bill Summary

House of Representatives

SB 1270

~~biotechnology research; appropriation~~

now: biotechnology research

Sponsors: Senators Gerard, Guenther: Hellon, Yrun

DP	Committee on Commerce and Economic Development
Dp	Committee on Appropriations
X	Caucus and COW
	Third Read
	As Passed the House

SB 1270 appropriates $500,000 a year for FY 2002-2003 through FY 2011-2012 from the Health Research Fund for a nonprofit biotechnology research foundation.

Current Status

SB 1270 passed the Commerce and Economic Development Committee and the Appropriations Committee unamended.

History

According to a 2000 report by Ernst & Young, revenues from biotechnology increased from $8 billion in 1993 to $20 billion generating 437,400 new U.S. jobs, $11 billion in research and development spending, and $10 billion in tax revenues. Additionally, according to the Arizona Department of Commerce, biomedical research is the fastest growing economic and fiscal segment of the U.S. Economy valued at $47 billion in 1999 and biomedicine receives approximately $20 billion in federal research dollars annually.

The monies appropriated in SB 1270 would help fund the Arizona Bioscience and Biomedicine Institutes (ABBI). ABBI is a non-profit public/private organization proposed by Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona, in collaboration with members of the public and private sector such as the Commerce and Economic Development Commission (CEDC), the City of Phoenix, and the Flinn Foundation. One of the goals of ABBI is to provide the infrastructure to attract a research headquarters like the International Genomics Consortium (IGC). IGC is a non-profit medical research foundation recently established to expand upon the discoveries of Human Genome Project and other sequencing efforts by combining genomic research, bioinformatics, and diagnostic technologies to research cancer and other genetic diseases.

The CEDC recently commissioned a study on the possible economic impact of ABBI and IGC, results are expected in April.

Provisions

· Appropriates $500,000 a year for FY 2002-03 through FY 2011-12 from the Health Research Fund to the Disease Control Research Commission (Commission) to allocate for a nonprofit medical research foundation (Foundation) specializing in biotechnology and collaborating with universities, hospitals, biotechnology and health science research centers and other public and private biotechnology businesses in Arizona.

· Requires the Foundation to match the allocation dollar for dollar.

· Stipulates that the expenditure of the appropriated monies is exempt from the procurement code as well as solicitation and award of grant requirements.

· Mandates an annual audit for the recipient of the appropriated monies.

· Specifies that any unused monies must revert to the Commission within 90 days of the end of the fiscal year.

· Establishes that if no monies are allocated by January 1, 2005, the Commission must notify the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate.

Amendments

· Passed the Commerce and Economic Development Committee unamended.

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· 45th Legislature