IN Legislature Dedicates $25M to Establish Biosciences Institute, Increases Accountability

With a commitment of $25 million over the next two years to establish a biosciences institute, Indiana lawmakers gave their stamp of approval to a major policy goal touted by Gov. Mike Pence during the campaign. The governor and lawmakers hope to build an endowment of $300 million to $400 million over the next five to seven years drawn from corporate and philanthropic sources. The endowment would fund annual operations of the institute and help recruit world-class scientists with an emphasis on technology commercialization, reports the Indianapolis Business News. Funding for the initiative is part of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation's (IEDC) budget. Earlier this week, the governor signed a bill aimed at increasing transparency in the state's economic development activities. Specifically, the bill requires IEDC to aggregate information on performance goals, jobs created, expected jobs, recaptured incentives and tax credits claimed each year. The 2013-15 biennial budget is available at: http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2013/PDF/HE/HE1001.1.pdf.