BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1420
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Date of Hearing: January 11, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Anthony Portantino, Chair
AB 1420 (Perez) - As Amended January 4, 2010
SUBJECT : State government.
SUMMARY : Requests that the California Council on Science and
Technology (CCST) and the
California Spaceport Authority (CSA) assess the state's
innovation infrastructure capacity. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requests CCST and CSA seek funding to complete their ongoing
assessment of the state's innovation infrastructure capacity.
2)Authorizes CCST and CSA to collaborate with the University of
California (UC), the California State University (CSU), the
California Maritime Academy, independent colleges and
universities, corporations with research and development
capacity, economic development organizations, investment and
finance professionals, and the California Community Colleges
(CCC).
3)Provides that the final assessment may include, but not be
limited to, the following:
a) A directory of public and private innovation facilities
and infrastructure in the state;
b) A list of national and global alliances that contribute
to the state's ability to be an innovation leader;
c) A comparison of the state's current resources to those
that would be necessary to remain globally competitive;
and,
d) A list of recommendations on how to access public and
private resources to meet the state's innovation needs.
4)Requests that the final assessment be presented in a format
that allows for display on the CCST Internet website and
facilitates its use by potential applicants for green and
other innovation-based federal funding.
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EXISTING LAW: Recognizes CCST as a not-for-profit 501(c)
corporation that provides nonpartisan science and technology
expertise and advice to California policymakers. CCST is
governed by a Board of Directors comprised of representatives
primarily from its sponsoring academic institutions (UC, CSU,
CCC, Stanford University, the University of Southern California,
and the California Institute of Technology). Recognizes CSA as
a not-for-profit 501(c) corporation that represents the
commercial, civil, and national defense/homeland security
interests of California's space enterprise community. CSA is a
member-based association, governed by a Board of Directors,
which works closely with stakeholders to facilitate California's
competitiveness.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Double referral : This bill was heard and approved by
the Assembly Jobs, Economic Development and Economy Committee on
January 5, 2010. The Assembly Higher Education Committee is the
second committee of reference.
Background : In 2007, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded a
three-year, $15 million grant to the State of California and the
CSA to support the "California Innovation Corridor" (Corridor),
an online collaborative network that includes CSA, California's
Labor and Workforce Development Agency and Employment
Development Department, and over 60 industry, academic,
workforce, and economic development participants within 13
counties.
One of several initiatives of the Corridor was the Innovation
Asset Mapping Inventory project (Project). The purpose of the
Project was to inventory key innovative assets owned and/or
managed by the private sector, academia, and government within
the 13-county Corridor. The Corridor defined "innovative
assets" to include organizations developing new technology,
applying existing technology in a new way, or participating in
some way in technology development. Profiles of the identified
innovation assets were developed and incorporated into a
searchable online database, where it is now accessible to
economic and workforce development professionals, education
stakeholders, and the public. As the database exists today, it
can be used to locate an innovation source (such as a research
facility or government laboratory), determine the type of
facility capabilities available at the innovation source (such
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as a lunar soil test bed, a wind tunnel, an exotic metal welding
laboratory, or a nanotechnology research laboratory), and
understand future technology research and development interests
of the source.
Purpose of this bill : According to the author, the Project has
proven useful for those public and private entities that wish to
engage in innovation within the Corridor. However, innovation
is not limited to the 13-counties that participated in the
initial phase of the Project. There are other areas of the
state that could benefit from being included. Additionally, an
expanded innovation asset inventory would provide a key
foundation for the state to more comprehensively and
strategically consider its competitiveness within the changing
global economy. This bill seeks to provide state leaders with a
better understanding of the condition of California's
"innovation infrastructure," to map its innovation assets and
hear recommendations from respected experts on how to strengthen
the state's role as a leader in science and technology.
Role of California's higher education segments: This bill
authorizes CCST and CSA to collaborate with California's public
and private higher education segments on the innovation
assessment outlined in the bill. While this bill does not
require California's higher education segments to participate in
the innovation assessment, according to CSA, several higher
education entities elected to participate in the initial
13-county Project. Antelope Valley Community College, Cal Poly
State University and UC Riverside, among others, contributed
information regarding their laboratory research capabilities and
future research interests to the innovation asset profile.
According to CSA, an expanded innovation asset inventory would
potentially provide California's higher education segments a
valuable opportunity to increase connections with industry and
government research entities.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
AB 1420
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Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960