AI-generated summary, not yet reviewed by Better Utah staff. Please consult the bill text.

This bill would create a new Higher Education Research Funding Pilot Program, putting $50 million in one-time state income tax dollars toward competitive research grants at Utah's public colleges and universities, with roughly 75-85% reserved for major research universities and 15-25% for applied research projects at regional institutions. The Utah Board of Higher Education would score and approve applications based on factors like expected impact, ties to Utah industries, potential for commercialization, and student involvement, and could hand off day-to-day administration of the program to the Nucleus Institute, the Talent, Education, and Industry Alignment Board, or a specially created committee; the board would also report annually to legislative committees on how the grants are being used. Separately, the bill would restructure the Nucleus Institute, a state-affiliated nonprofit that supports technology commercialization, by renaming its investment arm from the Utah Innovation Fund to the Nucleus Fund, changing how board members, the executive director, and the investment committee chair are appointed and compensated, and giving the institute authority to oversee a new collaborative workspace, classroom, and retail facility at the Point of the Mountain development site. The bill also shifts several existing duties — such as setting scholarship amounts for the First Credential, Opportunity Scholarship, and Public Safety Officer Scholarship programs — from the Board of Higher Education alone to the commissioner of higher education acting in consultation with the board.