Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Research Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee backs $50 million matching program and an 85/15 researcher split to boost university research
Summary
The House Education Committee passed Senate File 104 to provide up to $50 million in one-time matching funds for University of Wyoming research, adopt a proposed default 85% share for researchers on patents (15% to the university), and preserve a $1.2 million ongoing stipend program for graduate researchers; the bill passed the committee after an adopted amendment.
CHEYENNE — The House Education Committee on March 2 advanced Senate File 104, a proposal to provide a $50 million matching fund to bolster research at the University of Wyoming amid reductions in federal research funding and to change default revenue-sharing to favor researchers.
Senator Scott presented the bill as a one-time matching program designed to help the university leverage external research dollars; the $50 million figure is presented as a meaningful but flexible target and the funding is described as one-time money drawn from available permanent-fund gains rather than the standard operating budget. The bill also proposes changing the default patent-revenue split to 85% to the researcher and 15% to the university, a departure from more common 60/40 splits, intended to attract top talent while preserving negotiating flexibility for specific cases.
University President Ed Seidel told the committee the university has more than doubled external funding since his arrival (from about $90 million to $221 million) and supports state investment to sustain and grow research capacity. He described investments the university has made in tech transfer, entrepreneurship, and an Office of Industry and Strategic Partnerships to translate research into state economic benefits.
Committee debate addressed the size of the appropriation and the proposed revenue split. Members adopted an amendment that preserves a $1.2 million ongoing appropriation to provide $1,500 monthly supplemental stipends to selected graduate researchers while keeping the larger $50 million matching fund as a one-time appropriation to improve the bill’s prospects on the House floor. Representative Blackburn and others voiced support for the amendment as a pragmatic way to retain the program while reducing near-term appropriation pressure.
Procedure and outcome: The committee called the question on SF 104 as amended; the roll call recorded eight ayes and one excused, and the committee reported the bill passed.
Next steps: SF 104 will move from committee for further consideration. The university and sponsors indicated they may negotiate implementation details and specific revenue-sharing arrangements as the bill advances.
