Senate committee backs pilot grant program to seed university research

Representative Peterson introduced the first substitute of House Bill 373, a pilot program that would provide matching or seed grants to Utah’s public research universities to encourage projects tied to state economic development.

The bill repurposes money from an existing performance funding account and sets up a competitive grant process. Representative Peterson said the Legislature — through the Economic Development & Workforce interim committee — would approve priority research topics that could include critical minerals, aerospace and defense, water conservation, energy, life sciences and health. "The work that they are doing is changing Utah, is changing the world, and it's also helping our local industries be more successful," Peterson said.

Under the bill the universities would submit grant applications, presidents would prioritize proposals, and awards would be made based on a rubric in statute that emphasizes impact, industry connection, relevance to state economic development and commercialization potential as well as student participation. Peterson told the committee the measure is a one-time expenditure as drafted and that the bill assumes "17,000,000" will move "after our EAC does their work," a funding flow he said could be amended after the EAC’s report.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about which committee would approve research topics; Peterson confirmed it is the Economic Development & Workforce interim committee. There were no members of the public who testified on the bill.

Senator Kwan moved to favorably recommend the bill to the full Senate; the motion passed unanimously. The transcript records the committee’s approval as unanimous but does not list individual vote tallies.