Bill > SB121

This bill establishes the Center for Gun Violence Research in Pennsylvania to address the significant public health and safety challenges related to gun violence. The center will be administered by a university selected by the Governor through a competitive proposal process, involving an evaluation committee comprised of key state officials. Its primary mission is to conduct independent, nonpartisan academic research on gun violence, focusing on understanding its causes, consequences, and prevention strategies. The center will be required to collaborate with state and local governments, conduct interdisciplinary research on topics like individual and societal risk factors, analyze gun-related crime data, and assess the financial impact of gun violence. State agencies and local authorities must provide requested data to support the research. The center will receive annual funding from the General Assembly and can also award competitive grants to nonprofit organizations for gun violence research, using a peer review process similar to the National Institutes of Health. The research will be publicly accessible through the center's website, and biennial reports will be submitted to the Governor and General Assembly. The bill is motivated by the lack of federal funding for gun violence research since the 1996 Dickey Amendment and aims to fill this critical research gap at the state level.