9-12-1405. Wyoming research and innovation program fund created; authorized expenditures from the fund; rulemaking.

(a) The council shall administer a Wyoming research and innovation program under which matching funds necessary to access federal research and development grant funds or other nonstate funds may be provided as specified in this section. To be eligible to receive funding under the program an entity shall present to the council its proposal to apply for or an existing application for an externally funded grant specific to a priority economic sector identified in the approved twenty (20) year comprehensive economic diversification strategy under W.S. 9-12-1402(a)(iv). The entity shall demonstrate that further research funding from nonstate funds is likely to be provided if funding is provided under this section.

(b) The Wyoming business council, in consultation with the ENDOW executive council and the University of Wyoming shall promulgate rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. The rules shall include but not be limited to application procedures, eligibility requirements, the amount of funding which may be provided for any single project, provision for ensuring adequate consideration to the state in exchange for funding any project which does not solely involve a state agency or institution or political subdivision of the state, recapture of funding if the recipient of funds breaches any agreement under the program and prioritization for funding requests. In establishing provisions for adequate consideration to the state, the council may include, but is not limited to, assessment of the following:

(i) The potential for the creation of a high-growth company and number of new jobs created;

(ii) The amount of nonstate or private financing leveraged to be used by the business in Wyoming;

(iii) Potential increase in Wyoming based patents;

(iv) Increase in Wyoming higher education institutions' capacity to respond to new research developments.