UF Research Reminder: New State Requirements for Researchers and Universities
The State of Florida recently enacted a foreign influence law, HB7017, which imposes new requirements on the university and its researchers. This legislation, passed unanimously in both the House and Senate, seeks to identify and prevent undue foreign influence on Florida universities. Key provisions of the legislation include the following:
- Restrictions on Florida universities from participating in certain types of agreements with or accepting grants from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela or Syria.
- Reporting requirements for any contract, gift, grant or donation of money or property received from a foreign source with a value of $50,000 or more during the fiscal year.
- Disclosure requirements of past employment, education, publications and affiliations for all foreign individuals, including students, seeking a paid or unpaid research-related position, with required review and screening of this information by the university research integrity office prior to consideration for a research position.
- Requirement that all international travel be reviewed and approved by the university research integrity office prior to the travel occurring.
The university is developing a plan that will satisfy these requirements. We have created a Foreign Influence and Disclosure Task Force, chaired by the Vice President for Research, that is charged with identifying and implementing system and resource solutions to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations, while minimizing the impact to, and administrative burden on, colleges, departments and researchers. UF Research will provide the community with regular updates about the Task Force’s progress on the UF Research website and through regular university-wide communications.
