Florida Senate - 2012                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 616
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 629632                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  01/26/2012           .                                
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       The Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability
       (Flores) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 121 - 256
    4  and insert:
    5         (g) Developing guidelines administrative procedures
    6  relating to solicitation, review, and award of research grants
    7  and fellowships, to ensure an impartial, high-quality peer
    8  review system.
    9         (h) Developing and supervising research peer review panels.
   10         (h)(i) Reviewing reports of peer review panels and making
   11  recommendations for research grants and fellowships.
   12         (i)(j) Developing and providing oversight regarding
   13  mechanisms for the dissemination of research results.
   14         (5)
   15         (b) Grants and fellowships shall be awarded by the State
   16  Surgeon General, after consultation with the council, on the
   17  basis of scientific merit, as determined by the competitively an
   18  open, peer-reviewed competitive peer review process to ensure
   19  that ensures objectivity, consistency, and high quality. The
   20  following types of applications may shall be considered for
   21  funding:
   22         1. Investigator-initiated research grants.
   23         2. Institutional research grants.
   24         3. Predoctoral and postdoctoral research fellowships.
   25         (6) To ensure that all proposals for research funding are
   26  appropriate and are evaluated fairly on the basis of scientific
   27  merit, the department State Surgeon General, in consultation
   28  with the council, shall appoint a peer review panels panel of
   29  independent, scientifically qualified individuals to review the
   30  scientific merit content of each proposal and establish its
   31  scientific priority score. The priority scores shall be
   32  forwarded to the council and must be considered in determining
   33  which proposals shall be recommended for funding.
   34         (7) The council and the peer review panel shall establish
   35  and follow rigorous guidelines for ethical conduct and adhere to
   36  a strict policy with regard to conflict of interest. A member of
   37  the council or panel may not participate in any discussion or
   38  decision of the council or panel with respect to a research
   39  proposal by any firm, entity, or agency with which the member is
   40  associated as a member of the governing body or as an employee,
   41  or with which the member has entered into a contractual
   42  arrangement. Meetings of the council and the peer review panels
   43  shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 119, s. 286.011,
   44  and s. 24, Art. I of the State Constitution.
   45         (9) The grant programs under the purview of the council are
   46  exempt from rulemaking authority under chapter 120 department,
   47  after consultation with the council, may adopt rules as
   48  necessary to implement this section.
   49         (10) The council shall submit an annual progress report for
   50  each fiscal year on programs under its purview on the state of
   51  biomedical research in this state to the Florida Center for
   52  Universal Research to Eradicate Disease and to the Governor, the
   53  State Surgeon General, the President of the Senate, and the
   54  Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 15 February
   55  1. The report must include:
   56         (a) A list of research projects supported by grants or
   57  fellowships awarded under the program.
   58         (b) A list of recipients of program grants or fellowships.
   59         (c) A list of publications in peer reviewed journals
   60  involving research supported by grants or fellowships awarded
   61  under the program.
   62         (d) The state ranking and total amount of biomedical
   63  research funding currently flowing into the state from the
   64  National Institutes of Health.
   65         (e) New grants for biomedical research which were funded
   66  based on research supported by grants or fellowships awarded
   67  under the program.
   68         (f) Progress towards programmatic goals, particularly in
   69  the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of diseases
   70  related to tobacco use, including cancer, cardiovascular
   71  disease, stroke, and pulmonary disease.
   72         (g) Recommendations that further the missions of the
   73  programs.
   74         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
   75  381.855, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   76         381.855 Florida Center for Universal Research to Eradicate
   77  Disease.—
   78         (5) There is established within the center an advisory
   79  council that shall meet at least annually.
   80         (a) The council shall consist of one representative from a
   81  Florida not-for-profit institution engaged in basic and clinical
   82  biomedical research and education which receives more than $10
   83  million in annual grant funding from the National Institutes of
   84  Health, to be appointed by the State Surgeon General from a
   85  different institution each term, and one representative from and
   86  appointed by each of the following entities:
   87         1. Enterprise Florida, Inc.
   88         2. BioFlorida.
   89         3. The Biomedical Research Advisory Council.
   90         4. The Florida Medical Foundation.
   91         5. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
   92         6. The American Cancer Society, Florida Division, Inc.
   93         7. The American Heart Association, Greater Southeast
   94  Affiliate.
   95         8. The American Lung Association of Florida.
   96         9. The American Diabetes Association, South Coastal Region.
   97         10. The Alzheimer’s Association.
   98         11. The Epilepsy Foundation.
   99         12. The National Parkinson Foundation.
  100         13. The Florida Public Health Institute, Inc.
  101         14. The Florida Research Consortium.
  102         Section 4. Subsections (3), (4), and (5) of section
  103  381.922, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  104         381.922 William G. “Bill” Bankhead, Jr., and David Coley
  105  Cancer Research Program.—
  106         (3)(a) Applications for funding for cancer research may be
  107  submitted by any university or established research institute in
  108  the state. All qualified investigators in the state, regardless
  109  of institutional affiliation, shall have equal access and
  110  opportunity to compete for the research funding. Collaborative
  111  proposals, including those that advance the program’s goals
  112  enumerated in subsection (2), may be given preference. Grants
  113  shall be awarded by the department State Surgeon General, after
  114  consultation with the Biomedical Research Advisory Council, on
  115  the basis of scientific merit, as determined by the
  116  competitively an open, peer-reviewed competitive peer review
  117  process to ensure that ensures objectivity, consistency, and
  118  high quality. The following types of applications may shall be
  119  considered for funding:
  120         1. Investigator-initiated research grants.
  121         2. Institutional research grants.
  122         3. Collaborative research grants, including those that
  123  advance the finding of cures through basic or applied research.
  124         (b) In order to ensure that all proposals for research
  125  funding are appropriate and are evaluated fairly on the basis of
  126  scientific merit, the department State Surgeon General, in
  127  consultation with the council, shall appoint a peer review
  128  panels panel of independent, scientifically qualified
  129  individuals to review the scientific merit content of each
  130  proposal and establish its priority score. The priority scores
  131  shall be forwarded to the council and must be considered in
  132  determining which proposals shall be recommended for funding.
  133         (c) The council and the peer review panel shall establish
  134  and follow rigorous guidelines for ethical conduct and adhere to
  135  a strict policy with regard to conflicts of interest. A member
  136  of the council or panel may not participate in any discussion or
  137  decision of the council or panel with respect to a research
  138  proposal by any firm, entity, or agency with which the member is
  139  associated as a member of the governing body or as an employee
  140  or with which the member has entered into a contractual
  141  arrangement. Meetings of the council and the peer review panels
  142  are subject to chapter 119, s. 286.011, and s. 24, Art. I of the
  143  State Constitution.
  144  
  145  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  146         And the title is amended as follows:
  147         Delete lines 21 - 45
  148  and insert:
  149         Biomedical Research Program; deleting a provision that
  150         subjects meetings of the council and peer review
  151         panels to public records and public meetings
  152         requirements; providing that grant programs under the
  153         purview of the advisory council are exempt from
  154         rulemaking authority; requiring that the council
  155         submit an annual progress report for each fiscal year
  156         on programs under its purview to certain entities by a
  157         specified date; revising the required content of the
  158         report; amending s. 381.855, F.S.; specifying the name
  159         of an affiliate chapter of the American Heart
  160         Association as it relates to the membership of the
  161         advisory council within the Florida Center for
  162         Universal Research to Eradicate Disease; amending s.
  163         381.922, F.S.; requiring that the department, rather
  164         than the State Surgeon General, in consultation with
  165         the council, appoint a peer review panel of
  166         independent, scientifically qualified individuals
  167         award grants under the William G. “Bill” Bankhead,
  168         Jr., and David Coley Cancer Research Program;
  169         providing that certain types of applications may be
  170         considered for funding in the William G. “Bill”
  171         Bankhead, Jr., and David Coley Cancer Research
  172         Program; requiring that the department, rather than
  173         the State Surgeon General, without the consultation of
  174         the council, appoint a peer review panel of
  175         independent, scientifically qualified individuals to
  176         review the scientific merit of each proposal for
  177         research funding and establish its priority score;
  178         deleting a provision that subjects meetings of the
  179         council and peer review panels to public records and
  180         public meetings requirements; deleting the