Florida Senate - 2010 SB 2442
By Senator Lynn
7-01605-10 20102442__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the state university system;
3 amending s. 1001.706, F.S.; revising the powers and
4 duties of the Board of Governors relating to
5 accountability; requiring that the board align the
6 missions of each constituent university; authorizing
7 the board and the Legislature to assign specific
8 projects, missions, exemptions, and other
9 responsibilities to institutions that are nationally
10 recognized and ranked and that have a global
11 perspective and impact; amending s. 1004.226, F.S.;
12 revising the legislative findings and intent relating
13 to the 21st Century Technology, Research, and
14 Scholarship Enhancement Act to conform to changes made
15 by the act; providing an effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 1001.706, Florida
20 Statutes, is amended to read:
21 1001.706 Powers and duties of the Board of Governors.—
22 (4) POWERS AND DUTIES RELATING TO ACCOUNTABILITY.—
23 (a) The Board of Governors shall align the missions of each
24 constituent university with the quality of its students; the
25 national reputation of its faculty and its academic and research
26 programs; the quantity of externally generated research,
27 patents, and licenses; and the strategic and accountability
28 plans required in paragraphs (b) and (c). The mission alignment
29 and strategic plan shall consider peer institutions at the
30 constituent universities. The mission alignment and strategic
31 plan shall acknowledge that universities that have a national
32 and international impact have the greatest capacity to promote
33 the state’s economic development through: new discoveries,
34 patents, licenses, and technologies that generate state
35 businesses of global importance; research achievements of an
36 eminent faculty that brings over one-half billion dollars per
37 year into the state economy through external grants and
38 contracts; the creation of a resource-rich academic environment
39 that attracts high-technology business and venture capital to
40 the state; and this generation’s finest minds focusing on
41 solving the state’s economic, social, environmental, and legal
42 problems in the areas of agriculture, water, sustainability,
43 energy, and health care. A nationally recognized and ranked
44 university that has a global perspective and impact shall be
45 afforded the freedom to pursue an agenda on the global stage in
46 fair competition with other flagship institutions of other
47 states. The Board of Governors and the Legislature may assign
48 specific projects, missions, exemptions, and other
49 responsibilities to such institutions.
50 (b)(a) The Board of Governors shall develop a strategic
51 plan specifying goals and objectives for the State University
52 System and each constituent university.
53 (c)(b) The Board of Governors shall develop an
54 accountability plan for the State University System and each
55 constituent university.
56 (d)(c) The Board of Governors shall maintain an effective
57 information system to provide accurate, timely, and cost
58 effective information about each university. The board shall
59 continue to collect and maintain, at a minimum, the management
60 information databases as such databases existed on June 30,
61 2002.
62 (e)(d) If the Board of Governors of the State University
63 System determines that a state university board of trustees is
64 unwilling or unable to address substantiated allegations made by
65 any person relating to waste, fraud, or financial mismanagement
66 within the state university, the Office of the Inspector General
67 shall investigate the allegations.
68 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 1004.226, Florida
69 Statutes, is amended to read:
70 1004.226 The 21st Century Technology, Research, and
71 Scholarship Enhancement Act.—
72 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
73 (a) The Legislature finds that diversifying this state’s
74 economy requires a focus on building a growing base of high-wage
75 jobs and on nurturing those technologies and clusters that will
76 be the foundation of Florida’s growing economic diversity and
77 prosperity.
78 (b) The Legislature further finds that special programs are
79 needed to facilitate the recruitment of exceptional talent to
80 Florida’s research universities and centers and to provide the
81 infrastructure and resources that precipitate joint efforts and
82 coinvestment among state research and development institutions,
83 private industry, and government. Florida needs consistent
84 commitment and investment in order to further the state’s
85 strategy of capitalizing on innovative research and development
86 to build a thriving, technology-rich economy.
87 (c) The Legislature further finds that a university that
88 has a national and international impact has the greatest
89 capacity to promote the state’s economic development through:
90 new discoveries, patents, licenses, and technologies that
91 generate state businesses of global importance; research
92 achievements of an eminent faculty that brings over one-half
93 billion dollars per year into the state economy through external
94 grants and contracts; the creation of a resource-rich academic
95 environment that attracts high-technology business and venture
96 capital to the state; and this generation’s finest minds
97 focusing on solving the state’s economic, social, environmental,
98 and legal problems in the areas of agriculture, water,
99 sustainability, energy, and health care. A nationally recognized
100 and ranked university that has a global perspective and impact
101 shall be afforded the freedom to pursue an agenda on the global
102 stage in fair competition with other flagship institutions of
103 other states.
104 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.