BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2664
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
2664 (Irwin)
As Amended April 26, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Higher |12-1 |Medina, Baker, Bloom, |Linder |
|Education | |Chávez, Irwin, | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, Levine, | |
| | |Low, Olsen, Santiago, | |
| | |Weber, Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Jobs |9-0 |Eduardo Garcia, Kim, | |
| | |Achadjian, Brough, | |
| | |Brown, Chau, Chu, | |
| | |Gipson, Irwin | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
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| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Requires the University of California (UC), subject to
appropriation by the Legislature, to fund innovation and
entrepreneurship programs at each UC campus and at the Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and in other areas of the
state that may benefit from these programs.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Donahoe Higher Education, setting forth the
mission of the UC (Education Code (EC) Section 66010, et
seq.).
2)Grants the UC Regents regulatory authority over the UC (EC
Section 92440, et seq.).
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, General Fund cost pressure, at least in the low tens
of millions of dollars to fund activities at 10 UC campuses and
the LBNL, and potentially other areas of the state. A prior
version of this bill included at $66 million General Fund
appropriation, to be available in equal increments over three
fiscal years, equivalent to $2 million per year to each of the
11 UC sites.
COMMENTS: Background. As the research arm of the state, the UC
has driven innovation and economic growth. According to the UC,
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it is now the world's academic leader in the number or research
inventions, with 1,700 reported in 2014. The UC continues to be
the launching platform for a numerous startup companies that
stimulate the economic and job growth in California.
The state, in 2000, created the California Institutes for
Science and Innovation (Cal-ISIs) through the budget and
legislation (AB 2883, (Villaraigosa), Chapter 79, Statutes of
2000) to speed up business growth in the state, develop research
and innovations to meet California's needs, and train future
scientists.
The state provided start-up funds of $400 million for the
Cal-ISIs and the UC provide a 2-to-1 match from a combination of
business and federal sources. The state continues to reap the
benefits of its original investment.
What is needed for continued growth? According to the UC,
specific investments are needed so that the pace can be
maintained to keep up with the demand for innovation and
entrepreneurial infrastructure, resources, and support programs.
The UC contends that the investments will leverage UC research
in two ways: 1) provide researchers with the necessary tools to
turn their ideas into job-providing companies; and, 2) organize
research systemwide in order to address the various challenges
facing California.
Expanding the infrastructure for UC innovation and
entrepreneurship to create innovation and economic development
in the surrounding communities of UC campuses and across
California will not happen overnight. The UC has a three-year
investment of $2 million per year for each of the 10 UC campuses
and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
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This measure calls for the appropriation of $22 million for
fiscal years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 inclusive, to be used
by the UC in order for the UC to expand the infrastructure
necessary to increase innovation and entrepreneurship for the
purpose of creating economic development for California.
Purpose of this measure. According to the author, in 2014,
active UC startups based in California employed over 19,000
Californians and brought in more than $14 billion in revenue.
The author contends that in order to maximize the transformative
power of UC's research engine, the UC innovation ecosystem needs
to expand throughout the State. The author states, "The UC's
ability to provide entrepreneurial services is at capacity. The
demand for startup seed funding is rising, and workspace demand
consistently exceeds capacity. While UC-fostered
entrepreneurship is increasing, entrepreneurship in the state of
California is declining. The number of new adults becoming
entrepreneurs per month slipped from a high of 440 out of every
100,000 Californian adults in 2012, to 390 in 2015; a troubling
trend as young companies are the primary source for all net new
jobs created annually."
This measure seeks to build upon the successful model that the
state created in 2000.
Analysis Prepared by:
Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960
FN: 0003243
AB 2664
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