12 2 STA T . 2 08 1 PUBLIC LA W 110 – 2 46—J U NE 18 , 2008 ‘ ‘ (C)ensur e tha t — ‘‘( i )s ol i c itations are o p en an d co m petiti v e w ith awards made annuall y; and ‘‘(ii) o bj ectives and evaluation criteria o f the solici - tations are clearly stated and minimally prescriptive , with no areas of special interest; and ‘‘( D ) ensure that the panel of scientific and technical peers assembled under subsection (e) to review proposals is composed predominantly of independent e x perts selected from outside the Departments of Ag riculture and E nergy . ‘‘( 4 ) FUNDI N G .—Each agency represented on the B oard is encouraged to provide funds for any purpose under this section. ‘‘( 5 ) ME E T ING S .— T he Board shall meet at least q uarterly. ‘‘(d) BI OMA SS R ESEA RCH AND DE V E L O P MENT TECHNICAL ADVISOR Y COMMITTEE.— ‘‘( 1 ) ESTA B LISHMENT.—There is established the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee to carry out the duties described in paragraph ( 3 ). ‘‘( 2 ) MEMBERSHIP.— ‘‘(A) I N GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee shall con- sist of— ‘‘(i) an individual affiliated with the biofuels industry; ‘‘(ii) an individual affiliated with the biobased industrial and commercial products industry; ‘‘(iii) an individual affiliated with an institution of higher education who has expertise in biofuels and biobased products; ‘‘(iv) 2 prominent engineers or scientists from government or academia who have expertise in biofuels and biobased products; ‘‘(v) an individual affiliated with a commodity trade association; ‘‘(vi) 2 individuals affiliated with environmental or conservation organi z ations; ‘‘(vii) an individual associated with S tate govern- ment who has expertise in biofuels and biobased prod- ucts; ‘‘(viii) an individual with expertise in energy and environmental analysis; ‘‘(ix) an individual with expertise in the economics of biofuels and biobased products; ‘‘(x) an individual with expertise in agricultural economics; ‘‘(xi) an individual with expertise in plant biology and biomass feedstoc k development; ‘‘(xii) an individual with expertise in agronomy, crop science, or soil science; and ‘‘(xiii) at the option of the points of contact, other members. ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT.—The members of the Advisory Committee shall be appointed by the points of contact. ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall— ‘‘(A) advise the points of contact with respect to the Initiative; and ‘‘(B) evaluate and make recommendations in writing to the Board regarding whether—
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