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