CS/HB 1055

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the space industry; providing a short
3title; providing legislative findings; amending s.
4331.3051, F.S.; revising duties of Space Florida to
5include supporting the development and operation of the
6Space Technology and Research Diversification Initiative;
7creating s. 331.365, F.S.; establishing the
8multiuniversity Space Technology and Research
9Diversification Initiative within the Office of Tourism,
10Trade, and Economic Development; providing for duties and
11administration; providing an effective date.
12
13Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15     Section 1.  Short title.--This act may be cited as the
16"Space Technology Research and Diversification Initiative Act."
17     Section 2.  Legislative findings.--The Legislature finds
18and declares that the anticipated impacts of the National
19Aeronautics and Space Administration's retirement of the Space
20Shuttle program reveal an underlying lack of diversification in
21Florida's space industry. Florida lags significantly behind
22other states in high-value, space-related research and
23technology development, resulting in an economic reliance on
24launch-related programs. The Legislature finds that the state
25should expand statewide involvement in space research and
26technology development programs involving multiple universities,
27industry, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and
28the military.
29     Section 3.  Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (8) of
30section 331.3051, Florida Statutes, to read:
31     331.3051  Duties of Space Florida.--Space Florida shall:
32     (8)  Carry out its responsibility for research and
33development by:
34     (c)  Supporting the development and operation of the Space
35Technology and Research Diversification Initiative. Such support
36shall include, but not be limited to:
37     1.  Advisory support for defining the focus and scope of
38multiuniversity projects.
39     2.  Access to the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and facilities,
40including, but not limited to, the Space Life Sciences
41Laboratory for research and program management.
42     3.  Grant funding for projects that support the state's
43objectives for space industry expansion and diversification.
44     Section 4.  Section 331.365, Florida Statutes, is created
45to read:
46     331.365  Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic
47Development; Space Technology and Research Diversification
48Initiative.--
49     (1)  There is established within the Office of Tourism,
50Trade, and Economic Development a multiuniversity Space
51Technology and Research Diversification Initiative. The
52initiative shall be a university-led program to develop high-
53impact space research and applied technology programs that will
54advance the state's interests in space industry expansion and
55diversification. The initiative research shall be led by a
56consortium of universities with a main campus located in
57Brevard, Volusia, or Orange County and shall include, but not be
58limited to, the following focus areas:
59     (a)  Research into spaceflight biomedical countermeasures
60to address problems associated with sustained human spaceflight
61and exploration and human factors research for commercial human
62spaceflight.
63     (b)  Research, technology, policy, and engineering support
64for new government and commercial space transportation programs
65and microgravity research as part of the Hawking Center program.
66     (c)  Research and development for spaceport and range
67technologies and commercialization, including Earth, Moon, and
68Mars spaceport technologies that are priorities for the National
69Aeronautics and Space Administration and matching support for
70the Florida-NASA Matching Grant Program.
71     (d)  Research and development for space and upper
72atmospheric science, including, but not limited to, a statewide
73undergraduate-oriented, microsatellite and space
74instrument/experiment design program, and space-based computing
75technologies.
76     (e)  The recruitment of out-of-state, world-class space
77researchers to Florida universities.
78     (2)  The initiative shall be centrally administered at the
79Space Life Sciences Laboratory with advisory and other support
80provided by Space Florida. The administering partners shall make
81a best effort to maximize matching investments from industry,
82the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the United
83States Department of Defense, and other organizations.
84     Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.