Sec. 2. (a) The Indiana twenty-first century research and technology fund is established within the state treasury to provide grants or loans to support proposals for economic development in one (1) or more of the following areas:

(1) To increase the capacity of Indiana postsecondary educational institutions, Indiana businesses, and Indiana nonprofit corporations and organizations to compete successfully for federal or private research and development funding.

(2) To stimulate the transfer of research and technology into marketable products.

(3) To assist with diversifying Indiana's economy by focusing investment in biomedical research and biotechnology, information technology, development of alternative fuel technologies, development and production of fuel efficient vehicles, and other high technology industry clusters requiring high skill, high wage employees.

(4) To encourage an environment of innovation and cooperation among universities and businesses to promote research activity.

(5) To provide grants to district boards that are established in the city of Lafayette and the city of Fort Wayne under the entrepreneur and enterprise district pilot program established under IC 5-28-15.5 and as set forth in IC 5-28-15.5-5.

(b) The fund consists of:

(1) appropriations from the general assembly; and

(2) loan repayments.

(c) The corporation shall administer the fund. The following may be paid from money in the fund:

(1) Expenses of administering the fund.

(2) Nonrecurring administrative expenses incurred to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

(d) Earnings from loans made under this chapter shall be deposited in the fund.

(e) The budget committee shall review programs and initiatives and corresponding investment policies established by the board. The budget agency shall review each recommendation to verify and approve available funding and compliance with the established investment policy. Money in the fund may not be used to provide a recurring source of revenue for the normal operating expenditures of any project.

(f) The treasurer of state shall invest the money in the fund not currently needed to meet the obligations of the fund in the same manner as other public funds may be invested. Interest that accrues from these investments shall be deposited in the state general fund.

(g) The money in the fund at the end of a state fiscal year does not revert to the state general fund but remains in the fund.

(h) For each state fiscal year beginning after June 30, 2017, and ending before July 1, 2022, the corporation may allocate two million dollars ($2,000,000) of the total amount held within the fund in that state fiscal year for the purposes of making grants from the fund under subsection (a)(5) to district boards established in the city of Lafayette and the city of Fort Wayne as set forth in IC 5-28-15.5-5. This subsection expires December 31, 2022.

As added by P.L.4-2005, SEC.34. Amended by P.L.1-2006, SEC.128; P.L.2-2007, SEC.108; P.L.127-2007, SEC.1; P.L.213-2015, SEC.71; P.L.237-2017, SEC.21; P.L.238-2017, SEC.5; P.L.86-2018, SEC.21.