00HOUSE BILL NO. 117                                                                                                    
01 "An Act relating to grant procedures of the Alaska Science and Technology                                               
02 Foundation."                                                                                                            
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04    * Section 1.  AS 37.17.090(b) is amended to read:                                                                  
05  (b)  Except for grants under AS 37.17.225, grant proposals must be submitted                                          
06 for impartial and competitive peer review for scientific and technical validity by a                                    
07 panel of recognized experts appointed by the board of directors.  Members of a peer                                     
08 review panel are entitled to per diem and travel expenses authorized under                                              
09 AS 39.20.180.  The identity of members of a peer review panel is confidential until                                     
10 final action is taken by the board on the grant proposal.  The board shall consider the                                 
11 recommendations of the panel in deciding whether to award a grant.  The board may                                       
12 exempt grants of $5,000 or less from peer review.   The board may appoint board                                        
13 members to perform the peer review of grant proposals under $20,000 if board                                            
14 members are recognized impartial experts in the relevant areas.                                                        

01    * Sec. 2.  AS 37.17.090(g) is amended to read:                                                                     
02  (g)  As a condition of all grants awarded under AS 37.17.010 - 37.17.110 or                                           
03 37.17.225, the board of directors shall require that a fair and reasonable return to the                                
04 foundation, as determined by the board, from the revenue, economic value, or profits                                    
05 derived by the grantee from the grant project be paid into the principal of the                                         
06 endowment, subject to AS 37.07.  To secure payment of sums owed to the foundation                                       
07 under a grant agreement, the foundation  shall  [MAY] take a security interest in  or                               
08 [AND] own patents, copyrights, and other intellectual property  that are developed as                                  
09 part of the grant project after the grant is awarded.  The foundation shall                                             
10 periodically notify grantees in writing of their repayment obligation under this                                        
11 subsection and shall require grantees to submit annual certified financial                                              
12 statements until repayment has occurred.  The foundation shall request the                                              
13 assistance of the attorney general in enforcing the repayment provisions of a grant                                     
14 agreement when other efforts by the foundation have not had satisfactory results .                                     
15    * Sec. 3.  AS 37.17.090(i) is amended to read:                                                                     
16  (i)  A grant may include money to obtain equipment.  The equipment is the                                             
17 property of the foundation.   Subject to (l) of this section, at  [AT] the termination of                             
18 the grant, the equipment shall be disposed of at the discretion of the board.                                           
19    * Sec. 4.  AS 37.17.090 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                             
20  (l)  Each grant agreement must provide that, if the business of a grantee fails                                       
21 during the grant period or during the repayment period for the grant, and if equipment                                  
22 that was purchased in whole or in part with grant money is sold before or after the                                     
23 failure, the proceeds of the sale, up to an amount that equals the state's share of the                                 
24 original purchase price for the equipment, are state money and shall be paid into the                                   
25 principal of the endowment, subject to AS 37.07.