 The South Carolina General Assembly passed a series of legislative acts designed to help South Carolina research institutions develop world-class research for commercialization.The Centers of Economic Excellence Act  helped USC attract an array of internationally recognized scientists through the associated public/private multimillion-dollar Centers of Economic Excellence Program.The Research University Infrastructure Act provided $58 million originally and another $14 million in additional funding to help finance the construction of the Horizon I and Discovery I buildings, and the Partners Act of 2006 assists high-tech firms and university startups find grant and seed funding.