House Bill hb0111c1
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 111
By the Committee on Natural Resources & Environmental
Protection and Representative Detert
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to marine biotechnology
3 research, training, and industry development;
4 establishing the Florida Marine Biotechnology
5 Research, Training, and Development Program;
6 providing legislative intent; providing program
7 focus and long-term goals; providing for
8 administration of the program; requiring
9 appointment of a steering committee; providing
10 duties of the steering committee; providing an
11 appropriation; providing for disbursement of
12 funds; providing an exemption regarding
13 contractual services; requiring an annual
14 report to the Legislature; providing for rules;
15 providing for future repeal; providing an
16 effective date.
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18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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20 Section 1. (1) There is hereby established the
21 Florida Marine Biotechnology Research, Training, and
22 Development Program, which will foster, establish, and enhance
23 partnerships among research scientists in Florida universities
24 and research laboratories and the marine biotechnology
25 industry for the purpose of promoting commerce, creating jobs,
26 and benefiting from potential commercial opportunities in
27 Florida.
28 (2) The Florida Marine Biotechnology Research,
29 Training, and Development Program will support research using
30 modern techniques of cell and molecular biology in the
31 following areas:
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 111
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1 (a) Aquaculture, focusing on cell and molecular
2 techniques to improve size, growth rate, disease resistance,
3 survivability, and reproductive yields of aquacultured
4 organisms.
5 (b) Marine animal health, focusing on marine
6 pathogens, diagnostics, treatments, drug delivery systems, and
7 immunology, physiology, and pharmacology of both wild and
8 cultured marine animals.
9 (c) Marine bioproducts, focusing on the discovery of
10 drugs, bioadhesives, biominerals, and other economically
11 important products, the development of new models and screens
12 for product discovery, the identification of new drug targets
13 and mechanisms-of-action of marine-derived drugs, the
14 development of sustainable production methods for marine
15 bioproducts, and the development of novel methods for marine
16 byproduct utilization.
17 (d) Coastal human health risks, focusing on the
18 development of new diagnostic tools to assess seafood
19 pathogens and waterborne pathogens and pollutants.
20 (e) Coastal habitat restoration, focusing on
21 remediation, and molecular and cellular approaches to strain
22 improvement, hybrid development, and production technology for
23 submerged and coastal aquatic vegetation.
24 (f) Forensics and monitoring, focusing on bioforensics
25 for identification of threatened and endangered species,
26 seafood identification, evaluation of health risks, and
27 regulatory issues as related to economic fraud, and the
28 development of new biosensors.
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30 The long-term goal of the program shall be the creation of
31 products and processes that will advance the marine
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 111
194-148-01
1 biotechnology industry in Florida. This industry will create
2 new, clean, high-technology businesses, provide high-paying
3 jobs, and create employment opportunities that will keep
4 Florida-trained students in Florida.
5 (3) The director of the Florida Marine Research
6 Institute and the director of the Florida Sea Grant College
7 Program shall jointly administer the program with input from a
8 steering committee appointed jointly by both directors. The
9 directors of the Florida Marine Research Institute and the
10 Florida Sea Grant College Program shall jointly make final
11 project funding decisions.
12 (4) The steering committee shall be composed of one
13 member from each of the following: the University of Florida,
14 Florida Atlantic University, Florida State University, the
15 University of South Florida, the University of West Florida,
16 Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, the University
17 of Miami, Nova Southeastern University, the Harbor Branch
18 Oceanographic Institution, the Mote Marine Laboratory, the
19 Florida Marine Research Institute, and BIOFlorida. The
20 steering committee shall:
21 (a) Determine the research priorities that shall be
22 used to request project proposals.
23 (b) Determine the criteria used to select and fund
24 projects, which must include project rationale, scientific
25 merit, potential applications, industrial sponsorship,
26 investigator qualifications, potential for partnerships, and
27 plans for technology transfer to industry and the public
28 sector.
29 (c) Identify a scientific review committee to evaluate
30 and recommend projects for funding.
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 111
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1 (d) Make recommendations to the directors of the
2 Florida Marine Research Institute and the Florida Sea Grant
3 College Program for projects to be funded based upon the
4 recommendations of the scientific review committee.
5 (5)(a) Funds appropriated for this program shall be
6 awarded to projects based on competition as determined by a
7 scientific peer review process, which may include the advice
8 of a nationwide panel of technical experts. All universities,
9 public research laboratories, and private nonprofit research
10 laboratories in Florida shall be eligible to compete for
11 funding based on the submission of proposals and selection by
12 the competitive process. Projects that receive funding should
13 promote public and private partnerships when possible.
14 (b) There is hereby appropriated from the General
15 Revenue Fund to the Florida Marine Research Institute for
16 fiscal year 2001-2002 a sum of $2 million for the first year
17 of the program.
18 (c) Funds awarded to a project under this act shall be
19 spent over a period not to exceed 42 months for each project
20 and activity of the program. The Florida Marine Research
21 Institute and the Florida Sea Grant College Program shall
22 disburse all funds based on the competitive process defined by
23 this act and the steering committee. Projects funded within
24 the Florida Marine Research Institute shall receive funds
25 directly from the institute from this appropriation. Funds
26 awarded to universities and private nonprofit research
27 laboratories will be transferred by the Florida Marine
28 Research Institute by contract through the Florida Sea Grant
29 College Program. No more than $25,000 each shall be used by
30 the Florida Marine Research Institute and the Florida Sea
31 Grant College Program for technical administration of this
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1 program. Up to $16,000 may be used by the Florida Sea Grant
2 College Program for the expenses of the peer review and
3 technical panel expenses.
4 (6) Contractual services procured under this section
5 are not subject to the provisions of s. 287.057, Florida
6 Statutes.
7 (7) The directors of the Florida Marine Research
8 Institute and the Florida Sea Grant College Program shall
9 provide a joint report to the Legislature on program progress
10 by July 1 of each year the program is funded.
11 (8) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
12 shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to
13 implement the provisions of this act. The rules, at a
14 minimum, must address the solicitation of proposals, award of
15 grants, monitoring of grants, and dispute resolution.
16 (9) This act shall be repealed on July 1, 2006, unless
17 otherwise reenacted by the Legislature.
18 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.
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