AN ACT to create The Agriscience and biotechnology regional school planning commission to develop and plan a regional school of agriscience and biotechnology.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  There is established the Agriscience and Biotechnology Regional School Planning Commission.  The purpose of the Commission shall be to develop and plan a regional school of agriscience and biotechnology. The Commission shall be located administratively in the Department of Public Instruction but shall exercise its powers and duties independently of the Department of Public Instruction. The Department of Public Instruction shall provide for the administrative costs of the Commission and shall provide staff to the Commission.
SECTION 2.  The Commission shall consist of up to nine members appointed by the chair of the State Board of Education. Appointments shall be made no later than September 1, 2010.
SECTION 3.  The Agriscience and Biotechnology Regional School Planning Commission shall develop a plan for a regional school of agriscience and biotechnology and shall ensure that the model is replicable, sustainable, and scaleable.  In the development of its plan, the Commission shall:
(1)	Consider the regional school's governance, funding for operational and capital needs, personnel, admissions and assignment of students, transportation, school food services, and other issues the Commission deems relevant.
(2)	Solicit proposals from interested regions seeking to host the school and identify a location for the regional school.
(3)	Identify potential business partners for the regional school.
(4)	Consult with North Carolina State University and the NC Research Campus and establish connections between those institutions and the regional school.
SECTION 4.  The Agriscience and Biotechnology Regional School Planning Commission shall report on its recommended plan to the State Board of Education, the Joint Legislative Joining Our Businesses and Schools (JOBS) Study Commission, and the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by January 1, 2011.
SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 9th day of July, 2010.

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		 Walter H. Dalton
	 President of the Senate

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		 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

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		 Beverly E. Perdue
	 Governor

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2010