Strategic plan to further bioscience proposed

The Legislature would establish a committee to study the bioscience economy in Nebraska under a bill heard Feb. 3 by the Executive Board.

LB987, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld, would create the Bioscience Steering Committee composed of the chairperson or a designee of the Revenue and Appropriations committees, as well as three members of the Legislature selected by the Executive Board.

Morfeld said a previous legislative study of the bioscience economy in Nebraska was spearheaded by the Natural Resources Committee and that the time has come to follow up on that study from a broader perspective.

“Since this is just an update,” he said, “less funding is required and we can utilize the leftover funds from the 2010 study.”

The bill would be funded by the $36,000 remaining in the Biotechnology Development Cash Fund. The strategic plan developed by the committee would report to the Legislature next session.

Morfeld said bioscience jobs are located across Nebraska and provide a wage considerably higher than the statewide average.

Under the bill, the Bioscience Steering Committee would create a strategic plan, which would include strategies to:
• stimulate job growth in the fields of science, technology and engineering;
• encourage individuals and organizations engaged in the biotechnology industry to locate and expand in Nebraska;
• grow the state’s investment capital market and incentivize investment in life science start-up companies;
• develop Nebraska’s biotechnology workforce in cooperation with higher education institutions; and
• capture and commercialize technology that is discovered and developed in the state.

Stewart Bauck, general manager of GeneSeek and a board member of Bio Nebraska, testified in support of the bill. He said that GeneSeek, an offshoot of the University of Nebraska located in Lincoln, is the “poster child” for the legislation. The company does DNA testing on approximately 1.5 million plant and animal samples per year, he said.

“We are the world’s largest animal genomics facility,” Bauck said. “We have the benefit of a significant strategic advantage, which is our location in the great state of Nebraska.”

The company currently employees 130 people, he said, and would like to expand in Lincoln.

“One of our most significant challenges is the development of an appropriately trained and qualified workforce,” Bauck said.

Brad Roth, representing the University of Nebraska, also supported the bill, saying the state needs to know the current status of the bioscience economy in Nebraska and how to expand opportunities in the future.

“It is likely that changes have occurred in the industry landscape as well as some of the underlying assumptions from the 2010 report,” Roth said.

No opposition testimony was offered and the committee took no immediate action on the bill.