A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THE GRASSROOTS SCIENCE MUSEUMS COLLABORATIVE ADMINISTERED BY THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES TO IMProve SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENT, AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION.
Whereas, the Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative reaches nearly 4,500,000 North Carolinians in all 100 counties of the State; and
Whereas, the Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative works with over 6,000 teachers annually to provide science education to the students of North Carolina; and
Whereas, the Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative provides critically relevant science education in an economy that places a premium on well‑trained scientists; and
Whereas, the participating museums of the Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative are located in the cities of Asheville, Aurora, Brevard, Charlotte, Durham, Elizabeth City, Fayetteville, Gastonia, Greensboro, Greenville, Hickory, Highlands, Huntersville, Lumberton, Morehead City, Ocean Isle, Oxford, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Rutherfordton, Oxford, Statesville, Whiteville, Wilson, Wilmington, and Winston‑Salem; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources the sum of four million five hundred thousand dollars ($4,500,000) for the 2007‑2008 fiscal year and the sum of four million five hundred thousand dollars ($4,500,000) for the 2008‑2009 fiscal year for the funding of the Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative. The Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative is administered by the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences and provides a forum to strengthen science and technology centers in the State. Each Grassroots Science Museum shall receive fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) in funding and an additional percentage based on the operating budget of the museum.
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2007.