Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 5.djvu/440

 104 STAT. 3762 PUBLIC LAW 101-624—NOV. 28, 1990 (B) has entered into a cooperative agreement or other contractual arrangement with a commercial company domiciled in the United States that commits such company to— (i) provide funds for at least 20 percent of the total cost of such project; and (ii) engage in commercial production and sale of the marketable products, processes, uses, applications, or technologies developed through the project, under appropriate licensing, royalty, or other agreements. (2) ANIMAL SOURCES. —Not more than 25 percent of the funds obligated each fiscal year for grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under this section shall be awarded only for projects concerning new nonfood, nonfeed products derived from animal sources. (e) LIMITATION ON FUNDS PROVIDED.— Funds committed by the Center for any project under a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this section shall in no case exceed two-thirds of the total cost of the project. (f) PREFERENCE. — In selecting projects to receive funds, the Center may give preference to those projects for which the ratio of Center funds to non-Center funds would be lowest. 7 USC 5905. SEC. 1661. COMMERCIALIZATION ASSISTANCE. (a) ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.—The Center, at the discretion of the Board, may provide to entities described in subsection (b) for projects commercializing new nonfood, nonfeed products using agricultural commodities, financial assistance in the form of— (1) loans made or insured by the Center; (2) interest subsidy payments made by the Center (pursuant to an agreement between the Center, the lender, and the borrower) to the lender in amounts determined pursuant to the agreement; (3) venture capital invested by the Center in the form of a convertible debenture; and (4) repayable grants that are matched by private or local public funds and that are repaid as agreed in a contract between the Center and the entity. (b) EuGiBLE ENTITIES.—To obtain financial Eissistance for commercialization of nonfood, nonfeed products from the Center, an entity shall be a university or other institution of higher education, a nonprofit organization, a cooperative, or a business concern. (c) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The Board shall appoint an Advisory Council to advise the Board and Regional Centers concerning all applications for assistance submitted under this section. The conflict of interest provisions of subsection (i) of section 1659 shall apply to the Advisory Council. In appointing members of the Advisory Council, the Board shall ensure regional participation on the Advisory Council. The Advisory Council shall— (1) review (or coordinate the review of) the technical, engineering, financial, and managerial soundness and marketing potential of the applications; (2) by majority vote, msike a nonbinding recommendation on each application submitted under this section; (3) monitor the progress of ongoing projects and provide technical and business counseling as needed; (4) monitor the operation of the Regional Centers; and

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