KRS 164.6017: Powers and duties of Cabinet for Economic Development to carry out

purposes of KRS 164.6019 to 164.6029 and related statutes.

(1) The cabinets shall have all the powers and authority, not explicitly prohibited by

statute, necessary and conve nient to carry out and effectuate the purposes of KRS

164.6019 to 164.6029, including but not limited to:

(a) Entering into contracts or agreements necessary or incidental to the

performance of its duties, functions, and responsibilities; and

(b) Soliciting, borrowing, accepting, receiving, and expending funds from any

public or private source, including but not limited to general fund

appropriations of the Commonwealth, grants, or contributions of money,

property, labor, or other things of value to be used to carry out the programs'

operations, functions, and responsibilities; and

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the

executive director of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation shall

approve the contracts issued by the cabinet regarding the structure of

programs and funding levels in those programs administered by a science and

technology organization and created in KRS 154.12-320.

(2) The cabinet may expend money in the funds created in KRS 164.6019 and

164.6027 for reasonable administrative expenses directly incurred in carrying out

the requirements of KRS 164.6019 to 164.6029. It is the intent of the General

Assembly that the funds created in KRS 164.6019 and 164.6027 be used, to the

fullest extent possible, to directly fund project costs. It is also the intent of the

General Assembly that the first priority of expenditures of any excess revenues

generated from the funds created in KRS 164.6019 and 164.6027 is to replenish

general fund appropriations for those same purposes.

(3) The cabinet shall contract with a science and technology organization to administer

the programs created in KRS 164.6021 and 164.6029. The cabinet shall work with

the science and technology organization to adopt best practices for state in vestment

funds, and shall oversee and approve the application criteria, the process for

submission of an application, the types of equity investments permitted, the amount

of investments that should be made in each fiscal year, the category or categories o f

investments that shall be made consistent with the cabinet's strategic plans, and the

structure and type of outside expertise or peer review used in the application review

process for the programs created in KRS 164.6021 and 164.6029.

(4) No member of th e cabinet or the science and technology organization or other

administering entity, or their employees or outside experts or their closely related

family members, shall directly or indirectly financially benefit in any award,

contract, or agreement under the programs.

(5) The cabinet shall submit an annual report prior to November 1 to the Governor and

the General Assembly detailing its work related to the programs created in KRS

164.6021 and 164.6029. The annual report shall indicate progress made through

investments, and shall include but not be limited to reporting on the progress made

in achieving each program's purposes, qualitative and quantitative information

concerning the applications received, projects approved and undertaken, companies

served, and funding amounts invested in each project or program, as appropriate,

and findings and recommendations to increase each program's effectiveness in

achieving its purposes.

(6) All records related to the administration of the programs created in KRS 164.6021

and 164.6029 shall be deemed property of the cabinet and shall be deemed open

records and subject to public inspection under KRS 61.870 to 61.884. Any research

that involves or is a patent, trade secret, or other legally protectable interest shall be

exempt from inspection until such time as the intellectual property rights have been

fully protected.