A law that prohibits state employees from signing contracts of more than $15,000 with the state has hindered UW-Madison professors attempting research with independent companies, UW officials and professors said.
Gov. Jim Doyle and state Sen. Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, are authors of a new bill that would exempt all UW System researchers from the current law and require them to have the contracts evaluated by their school's conflict of interest committee. Supporters say the bill will allow contracts to be processed faster, allowing companies to more efficiently receive the
grants and funding they need.
Thomas Sutula, UW-Madison professor of neurology, could benefit from the new law. Sutula started an epilepsy treatment research company, and he and other UW officials say this law stands in the way because it delays attempts to get necessary funding, forcing Sutula to do his research at Michigan State University.
'Tom Sutula is just one of many professors who face this situation,' said Andy Cohn, spokesperson for Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
Current law holds that contracts of more than $15,000 have to be reviewed and approved by the state attorney general to ensure state workers are not using taxpayer dollars for personal gains.
UW officials say this law sometimes means researchers cannot use the university's equipment or expertise, even if it is not available elsewhere.
'The attorney general has much more important things to do, like fighting crime, and so they don't always get to [the contracts] right away,' Cohn said. 'And when you're doing a startup company, it's extremely important to do things quickly because your patent only has so much life and the sooner you get the research done, the sooner you have a product.'
Don Nelson, assistant director of state relations for UW-Madison, believes this bill is necessary to enhance research developments.
He said the process for state employees to gain contracts should be streamlined so their companies can successfully explore new ideas.
Critics of this bill argue current conflict-of-interest laws are necessary and that making exceptions for professors could lead to further exceptions in the name of economic development.
'We just want the legislature and governor to proceed very carefully down this line and really make the case that this is absolutely necessary.' said Jay Heck, Executive Director of Common Cause in Wisconsin.
UW-Madison professor of neurology Benjamin Brooks stated his concern about the university's ability to handle its own oversight.
'I think having an independent view of these conflicts is a very reasonable thing to do by an entity separate from the internal part of the university,' Brooks said.
'Right now it comes from the Department of Justice and I think that's appropriate and I think we learned a lot from the Barrows case that the university can't investigate itself adequately.'
