House Bill 1216

AN ACT TO DESIGNATE THE MISSISSIPPI TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTER AT THE JOHN C. STENNIS SPACE CENTER AS A CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

WHEREAS, in 1978 the State of Mississippi built a fifty thousand (50,000) square foot facility at the John C. Stennis Space Center in order to facilitate the transfer of technology from NASA, the United States Navy and other federal agencies located in south Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, this facility is known as Building 1103, the Mississippi Technology Transfer Center; and

WHEREAS, on May 20, 1987, Executive Order Number 576 was signed by Governor Bill Allain to allocate thirty percent (30%) of the Mississippi Technology Transfer Center for the state to operate a technology transfer effort to produce high wage technology jobs; and

WHEREAS, the 1987 Executive Order Number 576 and Chapter 518, General Laws of 1988, established at the John C. Stennis Space Center a Mississippi Technology Transfer Office to build upon the technology base that exists in south Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, in 1995, the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology, Inc., was established in cooperation with the Mississippi Development Authority, NASA and the institutions of higher learning in the State of Mississippi, and is located in Building 1103; and

WHEREAS, the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology, Inc., a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to creating high-skill, high-wage jobs in Mississippi, currently operates a technology-based business incubator in Building 1103 in order to provide support for the growth of start-up technology businesses in south Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, the Center of Higher Learning, which is a partnership between the University of Southern Mississippi and other institutions of higher learning, including Jackson State University, is also located in Building 1103 and provides academic programs to support the growth of these small businesses; and

WHEREAS, in 1999, the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions was established as a research partnership between the University of Mississippi and NASA to sponsor the development of nationally recognized remote sensing companies in Building 1103; and

WHEREAS, in 2002, the GeoResources Institute, which is a program established by Mississippi State University, opened an office in Building 1103 to support the development of geospatial technologies at John C. Stennis Space Center; and

WHEREAS, there now exist in the Mississippi Technology Transfer Center twenty-two (22) geospatial companies, four (4) nonprofit research and commercialization companies, offices of four (4) major research universities and a high performance visualization laboratory supporting one hundred thirty-two (132) jobs in geospatial technologies; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Building 1103, the Mississippi Technology Transfer Center is designated as a Center of Excellence for Geospatial Technologies in the State of Mississippi.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.