BILL REQ. #:  H-0389.1 

Prefiled 12/27/2006. Read first time 01/08/2007.   Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

     AN ACT Relating to research in the science and technology fields; adding a new chapter to Title 28B RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature recognizes the difficulty in attracting and retaining top quality graduate students in Washington state, particularly in the science and technology fields. In order to promote the growth of research in these fields, the legislature intends to help colleges and universities raise additional moneys for graduate fellowships by creating a graduate fellowship trust fund program for the sciences.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The graduate fellowship trust fund program for the sciences is established. The purpose of the program is to assist Washington's state-supported institutions of higher education in attracting and retaining top quality graduate students in the science fields.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
     (1) "Board" means the higher education coordinating board.
     (2) "Endowment fund" or "local endowment fund" means a fund established by an institution of higher education or its foundation to receive the private donations and state matching funds under this chapter.
     (3) "Foundation" means a private, nonprofit corporation that:
     (a) Is registered under Title 24 RCW and qualifies as a tax-exempt entity under section 501(c)(3) of the federal internal revenue code;
     (b) Exists solely for the benefit of one or more institutions of higher education located in the state of Washington; and
     (c) Is registered with the attorney general's office under the charitable trust act, chapter 11.110 RCW.
     (4) "Institution of higher education" means an institution of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016 that is in compliance with conditions adopted by the board for the graduate fellowship trust fund program, and is accepted by the board for participation in the graduate fellowship trust fund program.
     (5) "Meritorious student" means a student who:
     (a) Meets the residency requirements of RCW 28B.15.012(2), as demonstrated in RCW 28B.15.013;
     (b) Is meritorious, as defined by the institution of higher education that the student attends or by the foundation that is administering the fellowship; and
     (c) Is enrolled as a graduate student in an institution of higher education.
     (6) "Trust fund" means the graduate fellowship trust fund for the sciences established under section 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The graduate fellowship trust fund program for the sciences shall be administered by the board. In consultation with institutions of higher education and the governor's office, the board shall establish guidelines for the program. The board's duties may include, but need not be limited to:
     (1) The adoption of rules, deadlines, and procedures;
     (2) The adoption of an annual allocation system based on factors that may include, but need not be limited to: The amount of money available in the trust fund; the characteristics of potential participating institutions, including the number of eligible students enrolled in each institution of higher education, adjusted by each eligible student's rate of enrollment; the amount of private cash donations that each potential participating institution of higher education commits to raise annually for the program; and the amount of money previously received by each participating institution of higher education or institutional foundation. Any allocation system shall be superseded by conditions in any legislative act appropriating funds by the program;
     (3) The adoption of contracts with participating institutions of higher education and their foundations. The contracts may include any conditions required of participants by the board. The contracts must include: (a) Provisions for the protection of state matching moneys administered by foundations; (b) requirements to provide the board with the results of a biennial audit of participating foundations; and (c) requirements to maintain records on the disposition of state and private matching funds, and to provide an accounting of the number and characteristics of students assisted through the program;
     (4) The adoption of policies that maximize the distribution of the trust fund and matching moneys to institutions of higher education or their foundations;
     (5) The adoption of a mechanism to reallocate unused funds to institutions of higher education or foundations that have used their annual allotment of state matching moneys and have raised additional private donations for which the state matching funds were not available; and
     (6) The preparation and distribution of periodic reports on the results of the program. The reports must include an accounting of the students who have benefited through the program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   Funds appropriated by the legislature for the graduate fellowship trust fund program for the sciences must be deposited in the graduate fellowship trust fund for the sciences, hereby created in the custody of the state treasurer. The trust fund must be administered by the state treasurer. No appropriation is required for expenditures from the trust fund.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   Subject to rules adopted by the board:
     (1) All institutions of higher education with graduate programs in the sciences are eligible for state matching funds from the trust fund.
     (2) All foundations of institutions of higher education are eligible for matching funds if the foundations meet the requirements adopted by the board.
     (3) Eligible institutions of higher education and foundations may apply to the board for twenty-five thousand dollars from the fund when they can match the state funds with an equal amount of cash donations from private sources. These donations must be made specifically to the graduate fellowship trust fund program, and must be donated after July 1, 2007.
     (4) Upon an application by an institution of higher education or its foundation, the board may designate twenty-five thousand dollars from the trust fund for the endowment fund of the institution of higher education or foundation.
     (5) Once the private donation is received by an institution of higher education or its foundation, the board must ask the state treasurer to release the state matching moneys to the local endowment fund established for graduate fellowships.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   The foundation of an institution of higher education is eligible to receive moneys from the trust fund only if the foundation and the governing board of the institution of higher education have entered into a contract approved by the attorney general that:
     (1) Specifies the services to be provided by the foundation;
     (2) Provides for the protection of any state matching funds under the foundation's control that were provided under the program;
     (3) Provides for the institution of higher education's assumption of the ownership, management, and control of program funds if the foundation ceases to exist, fails to function properly, or fails to provide the specified services in accordance with the contract; and
     (4) Includes any other conditions specified by the board.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   (1) The graduate fellowship provided under this chapter is the property of the institution of higher education or its foundation and may be named in honor of a donor, benefactor, or honoree of the institution of higher education or foundation.
     (2) The institution of higher education or its foundation is responsible for soliciting private donations, investing and maintaining all endowment funds, administering the fellowship, and reporting on the program to the board upon request. The institution of higher education or foundation may augment the endowment fund with additional private donations. The principal of the invested endowment funds must not be invaded.
     (3) The proceeds from the endowment funds may be used to provide fellowship stipends to be used by the recipient for tuition and fees, books and supplies, subsistence, research expenses, and other educationally related costs.
     (4) Each institution of higher education or its foundation must include representatives of the graduate student body when selecting graduate fellowship recipients.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   Any private or public money, including all investment income, deposited in the trust fund or any local endowment fund for fellowship programs is not subject to collective bargaining.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   Sections 2 through 9 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 28B RCW.