Senate Bill 2135

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO ESTABLISH THE NUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION CENTER AT ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY IN COOPERATION WITH LOCAL AND COUNTY GOVERNMENTS IN THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES; TO SET FORTH THE PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning is hereby authorized to establish the Nuclear Energy Research and Demonstration Center at Alcorn State University which shall be a collaborative partnership between the university system and the United States Department of Energy, the Mississippi Association of Cooperatives, the Adams County Board of Supervisors, the City of Natchez, the Claiborne County Board of Supervisors, the Warren County Board of Supervisors, the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors, the Franklin County Board of Supervisors, the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors, the Wilkinson County Board of Supervisors, the Franklin County Economic Development Office, the Natchez-Adams County Development Authority, and the Wilkinson County Economic Development Board. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, acting through Alcorn State University, along with each governmental entity specified above shall act as a planning council to establish the Nuclear Energy Research and Demonstration Center.

(2) The purpose of the Nuclear Energy Research and Demonstration Center shall be to serve as an official introductory point to educate Mississippi school groups and visitors with hands-on opportunities and exposure to the world of Nuclear Energy. It will be a multidisciplinary initiative dedicated to advancing the frontier of energy, science and technology with a special focus on forward-looking approaches for alterative energy policy, generation and storage.

(3) The Nuclear Energy Research and Demonstration Center will be under the administrative oversight of Alcorn State University. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning is authorized to enter into contracts for the operation of the center and to receive and expend funds for the support of the center from public and private sources.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2012.