15.117A  Iowa innovation council.
  1.  An Iowa innovation council is established within the authority. The authority shall provide the council with staff and administrative support. The authority may expend moneys allocated to the innovation and commercialization division in order to provide such support. The authority may adopt rules for the implementation of this section.
  2.  The council shall consist of the following members:
  a.  Nine voting members as follows:
  (1)  Three members selected by the board to serve staggered, two-year terms beginning and ending as provided in section 69.19. The members selected pursuant to this subparagraph shall have expertise in the targeted industries and reflect the size and diversity of businesses in the targeted industries.
  (2)  The director of the authority.
  (3)  The director of the department of workforce development, or the director’s designee.
  (4)  The president of the state university of Iowa, or the president’s designee.
  (5)  The president of Iowa state university of science and technology, or the president’s designee.
  (6)  The president of the university of northern Iowa, or the president’s designee.
  (7)  One community college president, selected by the Iowa association of community college trustees.
  b.  Four members of the general assembly serving two-year terms in a nonvoting, ex officio capacity, with two from the senate and two from the house of representatives and not more than one member from each chamber being from the same political party. The two senators shall be designated one member each by the president of the senate after consultation with the majority leader of the senate, and by the minority leader of the senate. The two representatives shall be designated one member each by the speaker of the house of representatives after consultation with the majority leader of the house of representatives, and by the minority leader of the house of representatives.
  c.  A vacancy on the council shall be filled in the same manner as the original selection and shall be for the remainder of the term.
  3.  To be eligible to serve as a designee pursuant to subsection 2, a person must have sufficient authority to make decisions on behalf of the organization being represented. A person named as a designee pursuant to subsection 2 shall not name a designee nor permit a substitute to attend council meetings.
  4.  The council shall select the chairperson of the council, who shall be responsible for convening meetings of the council and coordinating its activities. The council shall annually elect one of the voting members to serve as vice chairperson. A majority of the members of the council constitutes a quorum. However, the chairperson shall not convene a meeting of the council unless the director of the authority, or the director’s designee, is present at the meeting.
  5.  The purpose of the council is to advise the authority on the development and implementation of public policies that enhance innovation and entrepreneurship in the targeted industries, with a particular focus on the information, technology, and skills that increasingly dominate the twenty-first century economy. Such advice may include evaluating Iowa’s competitive position in the global economy, reviewing the technology typically utilized in the state’s manufacturing sector, assessing the state’s overall scientific research capacity, keeping abreast of the latest scientific research and technological breakthroughs and offering guidance as to their impact on public policy, recommending strategies that foster innovation, increase new business formation, and otherwise promote economic growth in the targeted industries, and offering guidance about future developments in the targeted industries.
  6.  The council shall do all of the following:
  a.  Act as a forum where issues affecting the research community, the targeted industries, and policymakers can be discussed and addressed and where collaborative relationships can be formed.
  b.  Conduct industry research and draft documents that provide background information for use in decision making by the general assembly, the governor, the authority, and other policymaking bodies within state government.
  c.  Review and make recommendations on all applications received by the authority for financial assistance under the Iowa strategic infrastructure program pursuant to section 15.313.
  7.  A committee appointed by the director and the chairperson of the council shall review and make recommendations on all applications received by the authority for financial assistance under the Iowa strategic infrastructure program pursuant to section 15.313. Persons appointed to a committee pursuant to this subsection are not required to be members of the council.
2010 Acts, ch 1070, §4; 2011 Acts, ch 34, §4; 2011 Acts, ch 118, §16, 85, 89; 2012 Acts, ch 1018, §3; 2012 Acts, ch 1023, §6; 2012 Acts, ch 1126, §30; 2014 Acts, ch 1124, §13, 25; 2019 Acts, ch 139, §11; 2024 Acts, ch 1170, §148 – 153
Referred to in §15.105, 15.106B
Subsections 2, 4, and 6 amended
NEW subsection 7