164.0286 STEM Initiative Task Force -- Purpose -- Membership -- Steering committee oversight and coordination -- Administrative attachment -- Contracting -- Funding. (1) The Council on Postsecondary Education shall create a STEM Initiative Task Force for the purpose of providing leadership and strategic direction to a comprehensive, statewide STEM initiative to improve Kentucky's position for success in the knowledge-based economy by expanding and strengthening educational and economic development opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The STEM Initiative Task Force shall be composed of representatives from the executive and legislative branches of government, postsecondary education, elementary and secondary education, professionals within the STEM disciplines, and the business community. (2) The president of the Council on Postsecondary Education shall appoint members to the STEM Initiative Task Force, except that the President of the Senate shall appoint two (2) members of the Kentucky Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint two (2) members of the House of Representatives to the task force. The task force members appointed by the president of the Council on Postsecondary Education shall include but not be limited to the representatives on the STEM Initiative Steering Committee under subsection (4) of this section. The total number of members of the STEM Initiative Task Force shall be determined by the president of the Council on Postsecondary Education. (3) The task force shall have a chair, who shall be the presiding officer and shall coordinate the functions and activities of the task force. The chair shall be elected by majority vote of the members present at the first meeting of the task force after July 15, 2008. Thereafter, the chair shall be elected each calendar year. (4) The STEM Initiative Task Force shall have a steering committee to provide oversight and coordination of the implementation of the STEM strategic and business plans developed by the task force under KRS 164.0287, and to determine the allocation of funds from Kentucky STEM Initiative fund under KRS 164.0288. The chair of the STEM Initiative Task Force shall be the chair of the steering committee, and a vice chair shall be elected by members of the steering committee. The steering committee shall be composed of task force members as follows: (a) Two (2) representatives of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development; (b) One (1) representative of the Center for Applied Energy Research at the University of Kentucky; (c) One (1) representative of the Kentucky Rural Energy Consortium at the University of Louisville; (d) Two (2) representatives of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; (e) One (1) representative of the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation; (f) Two (2) representatives of the Council on Postsecondary Education; (g) One (1) president of a public university; (h) One (1) representative of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System; (i) One (1) representative of the Association of Kentucky Independent Colleges and Universities; (j) Two (2) representatives of the Kentucky Department of Education; (k) Two (2) representatives of the Kentucky Education Association; (l) One (1) representative of the Kentucky School Boards Association; (m) One (1) representative of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators; (n) One (1) representative of the Education Professional Standards Board; and (o) The task force chair. (5) When making the appointment of a representative required under subsection (4) of this section, the president of the Council on Postsecondary Education shall seek the advice of the chief executive officer of the organization, agency, or association being represented, except that the advice of the Kentucky Council of Presidents shall be sought regarding the selection of a public university president to serve. (6) Each STEM Initiative Task Force member shall serve a term of three (3) years, or until a successor is appointed or qualified, except that, to the degree possible, for members appointed by the president of the Council on Postsecondary Education, the initial term of one-third (1/3) of the members shall be for one (1) year, one-third (1/3) for two (2) years, and one-third (1/3) for three (3) years. A member may be reappointed to the task force at the discretion of the president of the Council on Postsecondary Education. (7) The task force shall meet at least semiannually or upon the call of the chair, and a majority of the full membership shall constitute a quorum. (8) The task force, under the leadership of the chair, may appoint committees, subcommittees, advisory groups, or other work structures to accomplish its purposes. (9) Members of the task force shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for necessary travel and expenses while attending meetings or conducting approved activities at a per diem rate not to exceed the rate promulgated in administrative regulation for state employees under the provisions of KRS Chapter 45. (10) The task force shall be attached to the Council on Postsecondary Education for administrative purposes. The council may enter into a memorandum of agreement with the Kentucky Department of Education for staff and other administrative expenses relating to the implementation of KRS 164.0285 to 164.0288. (11) The task force may create a public or nonprofit corporation or contract with an existing nonprofit corporation to facilitate the public-private collaboration in the development and implementation of the STEM Initiative. (12) The task force or the public or nonprofit corporation which may be utilized under subsection (11) of this section may receive and expend funds from state appropriations and may solicit, apply for, and receive funds, grants, contracts, contributions, property, or services from a person, government agency, or other organization, public or private. Determination of the use of funds received by the task force shall be established by the STEM Initiative Steering Committee pursuant to this section. (13) Funds appropriated to the task force or the public or nonprofit corporation which may be utilized under subsection (11) of this section shall not lapse at the end of a fiscal year but shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year to be used solely to support the purposes for which the funds were appropriated. (14) The task force or the public or nonprofit corporation which may be utilized under subsection (11) of this section shall: (a) Follow standard accounting practices; (b) Have an independent auditor conduct an annual financial audit; and (c) Submit a quarterly report of receipts and expenditures no later than sixty (60) days after the end of a calendar quarter. The task force shall file its report with the Council on Postsecondary Education and a public or nonprofit corporation shall file its report to the STEM Initiative Task Force. (15) The task force or the public or nonprofit corporation which may be utilized under subsection (11) of this section shall submit an annual financial and progress report for the previous fiscal year by September 30 to the Governor, the Legislative Research Commission, the commissioner of education, and the president of the Council on Postsecondary Education. Effective: July 15, 2008 History: Created 2008 Ky. Acts ch. 134, sec. 9, effective July 15, 2008.