12 2 STA T . 2 037PUBLIC LA W 110 – 2 46—J U NE 1 8, 2008 (A)INGE NE RAL.— A sungra n tce nter o rsu b center s h a l l use 75p ercent o f the fun d s descr i bed in subsection (b) to pro v ide co m petitive grants to entities that are— (i) eligible to receive grants under subsection (b)(7) of the C ompetitive ,S pecial, and F acilities R esearch G rant Act (7 U .S.C. 4 5 0 i(b)(7))
and (ii) located in the region covered b y the sun grant center or subcenter. ( B )A CTIV ITIE S .—Grants described in subparagraph (A) shall be used by the grant recipient to conduct, in a manner consistent w ith the purposes described in subsection (a), multi - institutional and multistate— (i) research, e x tension, and education programs on technology development; and (ii) integrated research, extension, and education programs on technology implementation. (C) F U N D ING ALL O CATION.— O f the amount of funds that is used to provide grants under subparagraph (A), the sun grant center or subcenter shall use— (i) not less than 3 0 percent of the funds to carry out the programs described in subparagraph (B)(i); and (ii) not less than 30 percent of the funds to carry out the programs described in subparagraph (B)(ii). ( D )AD M INISTRATION.— (i) P EER AND MERIT REVIE W .—In ma k ing grants under this paragraph, a sun grant center or subcenter shall— (I) seek and accept proposals for grants; (II) determine the relevance and merit of pro- posals through a system of peer review similar to that established by the Secretary pursuant to section 1 03 of the Agricultural Research, E xten- sion, and Education Reform Act of 1 9 9 8 (7 U.S.C. 7 6 13); and (III) award grants on the basis of merit, q uality, and relevance to advancing the purposes of this section. (ii) PRIORIT Y .—A sun grant center or subcenter shall give a higher priority to programs that are con- sistent with the plan approved by the Secretary under subsection (d). (iii) T ERM.—A grant awarded by a sun grant center or subcenter shall have a term that does not exceed 5 years. (iv) M ATC H ING F UNDS RE Q UIRED.— (I) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub- clauses (II) and (III), as a condition of receiving a grant under this paragraph, the sun grant center or subcenter shall require that not less than 2 0 percent of the cost of an activity described in subparagraph (B) be matched with funds, including in-kind contributions, from a non-Fed- eral source. (II) E X CLUSION.—Subclause (I) shall not apply to fundamental research (as defined in subsection
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