SECTIONS 89440 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 89440

89440. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The biotechnology industry in California is a rapidly growing
industry that will be a critical factor in the state's economic
success in the new millennium.
(2) The California State University plays a significant role in
the production and maintenance of the workforce for this rapidly
growing industry.
(3) The California State University Program for Education and
Research in Biotechnology was created in 1987 to provide a
coordinated and amplified development of biotechnology research and
education within the California State University, to foster
competitiveness in the industry on both the state and national
levels, to facilitate training of a sufficient number of
biotechnology technicians and scientists, to catalyze technology
transfer and enhance intellectual property protection, and to
facilitate the acquisition and long-term maintenance of
state-of-the-art biotechnology resource facilities.
(4) The program facilitates interdisciplinary cooperative
activities between the biology and chemistry departments on all
California State University campuses and between faculty and a number
of allied academic and research units, including bioengineering,
agricultural biotechnology, environmental and natural resources,
molecular ecology, and marine biotechnology.
(5) The program conducts a number of activities, including a
competitive applied research and education grants program, the
upgrade of biotechnology instructional and research equipment, the
development of specialized training facilities, and involvement in
secondary educator inservice and preservice biotechnological
training.
(6) The California State University conducted a Bioscience
Innovation and Training Center Feasibility Study to assess the
feasibility of creating a multiuse technology innovation and training
center in Pasadena that can serve as an anchor and catalyst for
biotechnology enterprise growth in the Los Angeles region.
(7) The study was completed in December 2000, and concluded that
there is strong demand for biotechnology workforce training,
research, manufacturing, and incubation services that warrant the
development of a bioscience in Pasadena. When Pasadena was evaluated
against critical success factors for biotechnology community
development, it scored highly on many factors, including a critical
mass of cutting-edge research, accessibility to transportation,
quality of life, experienced entrepreneurs, access to capital, and
availability of a skilled workforce. The steering committee
identified four main components for the proposed facility:
(A) Workforce training offering practical, hands-on learning
experiences involving multidisciplinary, multilevel teams of
researchers, technicians, production specialists, apprentices, and
students.
(B) Core research laboratories and instrument beta testing coupled
with process manufacturing.
(C) New business incubator space, including wet labs and shared
entrepreneurial services and support.
(D) Bioinformatics (convergence of biology, mathematics, and
computing) as a common theme running throughout the center.
(8) The Bioscience Innovation and Training Center Feasibility
Study, conducted by the California State University, found that the
development of a bioscience center in Pasadena is warranted.
(9) A successful biotechnology resource facility requires a
partnership of the city, industry, and education partners, as well as
public and private collaboration, in order to develop projects that
leverage economic opportunities in the Los Angeles basin and support
business throughout California.
(10) It is critical that, for a successful resource facility, the
public and private sectors work together to achieve the following
components: workforce training, research in core research
laboratories, new business incubator space, and manufacturing.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to accomplish both of the
following:
(1) To provide additional state funding, if state revenues allow,
to the California State University to maintain the California State
University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology at a
level that will maintain and enhance its role in the preparation of
the workforce in this critical industry.
(2) To provide additional state funding to the California State
University for development of a bioscience center in Pasadena,
subject to appropriation in the annual Budget Act, that would
integrate research and innovation, applied workforce training, and
incubation of new bioscience enterprise. The development of the
bioscience center would include a partnership among local educational
institutions, the local bioscience industry, and government. These
funds shall be used for the development of a pilot bioinnovation
workforce training program that bridges the gap between classroom
instruction and workforce practice, using state-of-the-art
instrumentation and real-world development projects, and for final
site assessment to ensure due diligence prior to the selection of a
final site.