G.__"Medical school" means a state-based private nonprofit medical school that, as of July 1, 2001, is authorized to grant a doctorate degree in osteopathic or allopathic medicine and is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association or its successor or the Liaison Committee on Medical Education or its successor.

Sec. 4. 5 MRSA §13103, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 731, Pt. SSS, §1, is amended to read:

2. Program established. The Maine Biomedical Research Program is established to promote economic development and jobs in the State primarily by making state investments in organizations with successful results in attracting biomedical research funds from specified grant sources.__As a secondary purpose, the Maine Biomedical Research Program is intended to provided incentive for small eligible institutions to grow.__The program shall disburse program funds from the Maine Biomedical Research Fund to eligible institutions pursuant to this section. The department shall administer the program. The department shall:

A. Develop and modify detailed program guidelines consistent with this section in consultation as needed with members of the biomedical community;

B. Review and if necessary verify applications for funds from eligible institutions;

C. Determine whether the institution is an eligible institution;

D. Verify that the proposed use of program funds is consistent with subsection 4;

E. Determine the allocation that each eligible institution will receive in a given biennium;

F. Advertise the availability of funds each biennium; and

G. Submit each biennium a summary report to the Governor and the Legislature that compiles information reported to the department as required by subsection 8 by all the institutions that receive program funding.

Sec. 5. 5 MRSA §13103, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 731, Pt. SSS, §1, is amended to read:

4. Use of funds. Program funds are intended to support biomedical research in this State, with priority given to research and research technologies with the potential to affect diseases, and biomedical mechanisms or conditions that are either caused by or related to tobacco use, such as, but not limited to, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, emphysema and stroke. An eligible institution receiving program funds under this section may use those funds for any of the following purposes:

A. Project funding;

B. Facilities funding, including debt service;

C. Equipment used in research, including debt service; or

D. Ancillary support.

An eligible institution that receives funds under this section may charge overhead expenses consistent with federal research granting criteria. The institution may utilize up to 2% of the program funds it receives to evaluate the impact of the research it is conducting. An institution is not obligated to expend program funds during the period in which those funds are received, but may carry over funding for up to 5 years.

Sec. 6. 5 MRSA §13103, sub-§5, ¶D, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 731, Pt. SSS, §1, is amended to read:

D. A breakdown and explanation of all funding from federal agencies and private foundations specified grant sources for biomedical research, listing each specific source of funding and its use; and

Sec. 7. 5 MRSA §13103, sub-§6, ¶A, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 731, Pt. SSS, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

A.__The formula must link the amount of the program funds to be received by an eligible institution to the total amount of funding that the institution has received or expended from specified grant sources during the previous 2 calendar years for the purpose of producing peer-reviewed biomedical

research in on-site biomedical research laboratories in the State.__An institution receiving more funding from federal agencies and specified grant sources must receive more program funds under the formula.

Sec. 8. 5 MRSA §13103, sub-§6, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 731, Pt. SSS, §1, is amended to read:

B. The formula must be weighted to provide smaller eligible institutions with a proportionally larger share of program funds an incentive to grow.

Sec. 9. 5 MRSA §13103, sub-§6, ¶C, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 731, Pt. SSS, §1, is repealed.

Sec. 10. 5 MRSA §13103, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 731, Pt. SSS, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

9.__Rulemaking.__The department shall adopt rules to implement this section.__Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in chapter 375, subchapter II-A.

SUMMARY

The bill clarifies that eligible institutions for purposes of receiving funds from the Maine Biomedical Research Program consist of nonprofit biomedical research institutions, academic medical centers or medical schools.

The bill also defines specified grant sources to include federal agencies, nonprofit foundations, private corporations or out-of-state educational institutions that issue grants or contracts for peer-reviewed biomedical research where the grantee retains complete editorial control over the content of the research performed.

The bill provides the definition for "private nonprofit biomedical research institution." The definition is based upon that used by the Association of Independent Research Institutions.

The bill provides the definition for "academic medical center." This definition is based upon that used by the Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers.

The bill provides the definition for "medical school."

The bill states that the purpose of the biomedical Research Program is to promote economic development and jobs in the State, and that the primary means for doing so is to make investments in institutions with a track record of attracting biomedical research funds to the State. A secondary purpose of the program is to provide incentives for small biomedical research institutions to grow.

The bill generalizes the scope of biomedical research to include all diseases and biomedical mechanisms.

The bill amends the application procedure to incorporate the amended definition of specified grant sources, and clarifies that the allocation of funds to eligible institutions must be based on the funding that the institution has received or expended for the purpose of producing peer-reviewed biomedical research in on- site, "wetbench" laboratories in this State.

The bill amends the section of the law pertaining to allocation of funds to incorporate the amended definition of specified grant sources.

The bill states that the allocation formula must provide smaller institutions with an incentive to grow.

The bill repeals the minimum funding allocation provision.

The bill provides that rules adopted by the Department of Economic and Community Development to implement the Maine Biomedical Research Program are routine technical rules.