Committee advances bill to create West Virginia Collaboratory at Marshall University

A Senate committee voted to report House Bill 4,002 to the full Senate after counsel described the measure to create the West Virginia Collaboratory, which would be housed at Marshall University and charged with coordinating research and policy expertise from state institutions of higher education for use by state and local governments.

The bill requires the Collaboratory to conduct and support research projects within appropriated funds, help identify research and development opportunities, disseminate best practices, develop curriculum and workshops, and make policy‑research funding recommendations to the legislature. Counsel said the measure also prohibits appropriated Collaboratory funds from being used for indirect overhead costs at partner institutions and requires all units of state government to cooperate with Collaboratory research programs.

Supporters told the committee the Collaboratory could help state government access university expertise for practical policy work. A senior senator from the 13th (speaker 4) said the institutions can “support the mission of our state government” by providing valuable information rooted in research. After brief discussion and no amendments, the vice chair moved that the bill be reported to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass; the chair called a voice vote and declared the motion adopted.

The bill also would require the Collaboratory advisory group to be reimbursed from its funds, exempt its meetings from the Open Governmental Procedures Act or FOIA, and direct an annual report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance by Dec. 1 each year. The committee adopted the recommendation to pass the bill; the measure will next go to the full Senate for consideration.