SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2007 SESSION


CHAPTER 891
An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 26 of Title 2.2 an article numbered 32, consisting of sections numbered 2.2-2698 and 2.2-2699, relating to the Aerospace Advisory Council.
[H 3114]
Approved April 4, 2007

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Chapter 26 of Title 2.2 an article numbered 32, consisting of sections numbered 2.2-2698 and 2.2-2699, as follows:

Article 32.
Aerospace Advisory Council.

§ 2.2-2698. Aerospace Advisory Council; purpose; membership; compensation; chairman.

A. The Aerospace Advisory Council (the Council) is established as an advisory council, within the meaning of § 2.2-2100, in the executive branch of state government. The purpose of the Council shall be to advise the Governor on policy and funding priorities to promote the aerospace and space exploration industry in the Commonwealth.

B. The Council shall have a total membership of 15 members that shall consist of four legislative members and 11 nonlegislative citizen members. Members shall be appointed as follows: three members of the House of Delegates to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates; one member of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and eleven nonlegislative citizen members, of whom one shall represent NASA Wallops Flight Facility, one shall represent NASA's Langley Research Center, one shall represent the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, one shall represent Old Dominion University, and one shall represent Virginia Tech, to be appointed by the Governor. Legislative members shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Other members shall be appointed for terms of two years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. All members may be reappointed.

C. Legislative members of the Council shall receive such compensation as provided in § 30-19.12. Nonlegislative citizen members shall serve without compensation. All members shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825. Funding for compensation and expenses of legislative members shall be provided by the operating budgets of the Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate upon approval of the Joint Rules Committee. Funding for the costs of expenses of the nonlegislative citizen members and all other expenses of the Council shall be provided by the Office of the Secretary of Technology.  

D. The Council shall elect a chairman and a vice-chairman annually from among its membership. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The Council shall meet at such times as may be called by the chairman or a majority of the Council.

E. Staff to the Council shall be provided by the Office of the Secretary of Technology.

§ 2.2-2699. Powers and duties of the Council.

The Council shall have the power and duty to:

1. Identify any federal or state regulatory impediments, including taxation, to the development of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport;

2. Identify threats to the spaceport’s viability, such as encroachment, zoning, mineral exploration and exploitation, and noncompatible uses of the spaceport;

3. Advise the Governor on potential economic development opportunities and marketing strategies to attract launch companies to Virginia;

4. Identify and recommend policy and legislative solutions to potential state legal barriers to human spaceflight, including liability and assumption of risk issues;

5. Advise the Governor on infrastructure and marketing investments needed to achieve the spaceport's full potential and that of Virginia's aerospace sector as a whole;

6. Develop a long-term strategic plan to make the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport the premiere commercial hub for space travel in the United States;

7. Identify and recommend actions to position Virginia's aerospace sector to take advantage of newly emerging opportunities as part of NASA's Vision for Space Exploration; and

8. Identify and recommend policies to support the critical role of Virginia's universities in providing human capital and research contributions that significantly impact aerospace-related economic development in the Commonwealth.

2.  That the provisions of this act shall expire on July 1, 2010.