Read 1st time February 17, 2000, and 1000 copies ordered printed.
ANNE C. WALKER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To amend chapters 172 and 488, RSMo, by adding thereto seven new sections relating to a spinal cord injury grant program.
Section A. Chapters 172 and 488, RSMo, are amended by adding thereto seven new sections, to be known as sections 172.790, 172.792, 172.794, 172.796, 172.798, 179.799 and 488.5350, to read as follows:
172.790. As used in sections 172.790 to 172.799, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the following terms shall mean:
(1) "Advisory board", a board appointed by the board of curators to advise on the administration of the program established by sections 172.790 to 172.799;
(2) "Board of curators", the board of curators of the University of Missouri;
(3) "Investigator", any person with research skills who seeks state funding for a research project under sections 172.790 to 172.799;
(4) "Research project", any original investigation for the advancement of scientific knowledge in the area of spinal cord injuries;
(5) "Spinal cord injury", any condition related to the spinal cord which causes partial or complete paralysis.
172.792. 1. The board of curators shall award funds to investigators for research projects that promote an advancement of knowledge in the area of spinal cord injury. Beginning in the 2002 fiscal year, the board of curators shall utilize the appropriation authorized in section 172.799 for this purpose. The board of curators may request an additional appropriation for administrative overhead not to exceed ten percent of the annual appropriation of research funds.
2. The advisory board shall solicit and select proposals for research projects according to procedures approved by the board of curators. The selection procedures shall provide for peer review of the background and ability of each investigator, the merits of the work proposed and an evaluation of the potential for each research project to achieve productive results. The peer review shall be conducted by the advisory board in accordance with such procedures as are utilized by the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation and shall be further consistent with the procedures required by the Missouri research assistance act as otherwise provided by law. Such review shall consist of professional evaluation of the proposal by experts on the topic who are not affiliated in any way with the submitting investigator. Because the proposals submitted for funding are the submitting investigator's private property and could be a scientific or technological innovation in which the submitting investigator has a proprietary interest, the results of this external evaluation and the related discussion by the advisory board shall not be open to the public. The final awards of the advisory board and all of its other proceedings shall be open to the public.
172.794. 1. The board of curators, with the recommendations of the advisory board, shall award funds to selected investigators in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) Individual awards shall not exceed thirty thousand dollars per year and shall expire at the end of one or two years, depending on the recommendation of the advisory board for each award;
(2) Costs for overhead of the grantee individual or institution shall not be allowed;
(3) Investigators shall be employees or staff members of public or private educational, health care, voluntary health association or research institutions which shall specify the institutional official responsible for administration of the award;
(4) Subject to the provisions of subsection 3 of section 172.792, preference shall be given to investigators new to the field of spinal cord injuries and to those experienced in the field but departing in a research direction different from their previous work. Lesser preference shall be given to proposals to sustain meritorious research in progress;
(5) Awards shall be used to obtain preliminary data to test hypotheses and to enable investigators to develop subsequent competitive applications for long-term funding from other sources; and
(6) The research project shall be conducted in Missouri.
2. Funds appropriated for but not awarded to research projects in any given year shall be included in the board of curators' appropriations request for research projects in the succeeding year.
172.796. 1. The advisory board shall consist of:
(1) Two physicians who are active both in research addressing spinal cord injuries and in caring for patients with these injuries;
(2) Two nonphysicians engaged in research addressing spinal cord injuries;
(3) One nonphysician professional active in providing service or care to patients with these disorders;
(4) Two nonresearchers active in a spinal cord injury association or organization;
(5) One representative of the board of curators;
(6) One representative from the task force as long as it is in existence;
(7) One member of the general assembly.
2. The advisory board members shall be appointed for terms of three years, except that the terms of the original members shall be staggered among two, three and four years to allow for continuity.
3. Members of the advisory board shall be appointed by the board of curators from nominations made by the task force as long as it is in existence. Thereafter, nominations shall be made by the advisory board itself.
4. Members of the advisory board may be dismissed by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members.
5. Members of the advisory board and its peer review committee shall be reimbursed by the board of curators for their actual expenses in providing services pursuant to sections 172.790 to 172.799.
172.798. The board of curators shall administer all provisions of sections 172.790 to 172.799 and may promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out this duty.
172.799. 1. There is hereby established a "Spinal Cord Injury Fund" in the state treasury. All moneys collected pursuant to section 488.5350, RSMo, shall be deposited in the fund and subject to appropriation by the general assembly as provided by this section.
2. The first two hundred thousand dollars deposited in the fund annually shall be appropriated to the University of Missouri for the awarding of funds to investigators for research projects that promote an advancement of knowledge in the area of spinal cord injury pursuant to sections 172.790 to 172.799. Any remaining funds shall be subject to appropriation by the general assembly as provided by law.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080, RSMo, to the contrary, the moneys in the spinal cord injury fund shall not revert to the credit of the general revenue fund at the end of the biennium.
488.5350. 1. In addition to any other fines or court costs assessed by the courts, a surcharge in the amount of one dollar shall be assessed as costs in all criminal cases involving a violation of section 210.104, RSMo, or section 307.178, RSMo; except that, no such surcharge shall be collected in any proceeding in any court when the proceeding or the defendant has been dismissed by the court or when costs are to be paid by the state, county or municipality. The proceeds of such surcharge shall be collected and disbursed in the manner provided by sections 488.010 to 488.020 and shall be payable to the state treasurer for deposit in the spinal cord injury fund established in section 172.799, RSMo.
2. The office of the state courts administrator shall utilize the statewide court automation system to implement a
method of accurately tracking and recording the number of cases involving violations of section 210.104, RSMo
and section 307.178, RSMo, RSMo.
Missouri House of Representatives