§40-9-34. Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology.

(a) The following is hereby found and declared by the Legislature of Alabama:

(1) The lack of content in natural and bio-science education offered to students in kindergarten through high school is a nationwide problem.

(2) Such lack in curricular offerings to students will be detrimental in the long-term to the economy of the state and the welfare of the citizens during the scientific revolution now engulfing the world.

(3) The biotechnology institute can provide to education leaders of the distance learning program of the state cutting edge biotechnology curriculum recommendations and content for Alabama high schools, by providing information about cutting edge biotechnology curriculum and content to students in kindergarten through high school pursuant to the distance learning program of the state, the state course of study, and state textbooks.

(4) By educating Alabama high school students in the field of biotechnology, such students are more likely to pursue careers in the biological sciences, thereby providing the state with a better educated workforce able to support the growing biotechnology industry, in turn attracting and encouraging biotechnology companies to locate in the state and create additional challenging and rewarding job opportunities for the citizens of the state.

(5) The reputation, economic status, and educational system of the state will be further enhanced by the addition of an internationally renowned biotechnology institute that will support internationally recognized scientists and researchers, with a focus on scientific discoveries that are intended, when possible, to be proven in the state and provided by companies in the state to patients suffering from diseases.

(6) By establishing a biotechnology campus, the biotechnology institute will be in a better position to join with the economic development leaders of the state to attract biotechnology companies to the campus and to the state, thereby creating additional job opportunities for the citizens of the state.

(b) The Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology, a nonprofit corporation, and any real and personal property owned by the corporation, shall be exempt from the payment of any and all state, county, and municipal taxes, licenses, fees, and charges of any nature whatsoever, including any privilege or excise tax heretofore or hereafter levied by the State of Alabama or any county or municipality thereof.

(c)(1) In exchange for the tax exemption granted in subsection (b), beginning October 1, 2008, and for each year thereafter, the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology shall make a report to the State Board of Education detailing the curricular content in biotechnology which could enhance the state distance learning program. This subdivision shall not apply in the event that the distance learning program is discontinued, or is no longer in existence. Further, the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology shall report annually to the State Board of Education, the State Course of Study Committee, and the State Textbook Committee all new developments in the field of biotechnology which could be integrated into the curriculum for high school courses in science and health.

(2) Further, in exchange for the tax exemption granted in subsection (b), the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology shall certify to the Legislative Fiscal Office and to the House and Senate education appropriations committees on or before September 30, 2008, that the following levels of investment, employment, and property improvements have been made in the State of Alabama:

a. The Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology has made an investment in the State of Alabama equal to or in excess of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) in property and equipment.

b. The Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology has equal to or in excess of 100 employees.

c. For-profit companies have made property improvements on property in the State of Alabama owned by the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology equal to or in excess of five million dollars ($5,000,000).

(3) In the event that the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology fails to meet the requirements in subdivision (1), all tax exemptions granted in subsection (b) are null and void as of October 1, 2008, and the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology shall repay all taxes exempt under subsection (b) that were not otherwise exempt by law, beginning as of the effective date of the exemption until September 30, 2008. The Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology shall repay the taxes in equal installments each year beginning October 1, 2008, and ending October 1, 2018.

(d)(1) Each for-profit entity leasing or otherwise owning property located on property owned by the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology shall be subject to sales, use, and ad valorem taxes, and each for-profit entity leasing property located on property owned by the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology shall be subject to property tax on the leased property, fixtures, and equipment thereof except as otherwise allowed under Chapter 9B of this title, or any amendment or successor statute thereto.

(2) No for-profit entity shall be entitled to an exemption under subsection (b) directly or indirectly, including any property that is contributed to the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology by a for-profit entity if the contributing for-profit entity uses that contributed property in its for-profit activities.

(Act 2005-305, 1st Sp. Sess., §§2-5; Act 2010-219, p. 362, §1.)