as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/01/2024 03:00pm
A bill for an act
relating to human services; appropriating money for ALS research and caregiver
support programs; amending Laws 2022, chapter 42, section 2.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Laws 2022, chapter 42, section 2, is amended to read:
(a) $20,000,000 in fiscal year 2023 deleted text begin isdeleted text end new text begin and $....... in fiscal year 2024 arenew text end appropriated
from the general fund to the commissioner of the Office of Higher Education to award
competitive grants to applicants for research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The
commissioner may work with the Minnesota Department of Health to administer the grant
program, including identifying clinical and translational research and innovations, developing
outcomes and objectives with the goal of bettering the lives of individuals with ALS and
finding a cure for the disease, and application review and grant recipient selection. Not more
than $400,000 may be used by the commissioner to administer the grant program.
(b) Grants shall be awarded to support clinical and translational research related to ALS.
Research topics may include but are not limited to environmental factors, disease
mechanisms, disease models, biomarkers, drug development, clinical studies, precision
medicine, medical devices, assistive technology, and cognitive studies.
(c) Eligible applicants for the grants are research facilities, universities, and health
systems located in Minnesota. Applicants must submit proposals to the commissioner in
the time, form, and manner established by the commissioner. Applicants may coordinate
research endeavors and submit a joint application. When reviewing the proposals, the
commissioner shall make an effort to avoid approving a grant for an applicant whose research
is duplicative of an existing grantee's research.
(d) Beginning January 15, 2023, and annually thereafter until January 15, 2027, the
commissioner shall submit a report to the legislature specifying the applicants receiving
grants under this section, the amount of each grant, the purposes for which the grant funds
were used, and the amount of the appropriation that is unexpended. The report must also
include relevant findings, results, and outcomes of the grant program, and any other
information which the commissioner deems significant or useful.
(e) This is a onetime appropriation. Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 16A.28,
unencumbered balances under this section do not cancel until June 30, 2026.
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$....... in fiscal year 2024 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of
human services for the Minnesota Board on Aging for the purposes of the caregiver support
programs under Minnesota Statutes, section 256.9755. Programs receiving funding under
this section must include an ALS-specific respite service in their caregiver support program.
This is a onetime appropriation.
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