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2016 SESSION

16102365D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 97
Offered January 13, 2016
Prefiled January 11, 2016
Directing the Joint Commission on Technology and Science to study the Commonwealth's aerospace industry. Report.
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Patrons-- Yancey, Anderson, Bloxom, Mason and Sickles
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Referred to Committee on Science and Technology
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WHEREAS, the Commonwealth is home to more than 265 aerospace firms due to a skilled workforce, strong economic growth, pro-business environment, and excellent quality of life; and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth's role in the aerospace industry dates from 1917, when the nation's first civil aeronautics laboratory, now known as the NASA Langley Research Center, was established in Hampton; and

WHEREAS, the aerospace industry is a driving force of the Commonwealth's economy, supplying jobs to 30,500 workers; and

WHEREAS, the Aerospace Advisory Council has recommended that a comprehensive study of all factors affecting the Commonwealth's aerospace industry be conducted to help to grow the industry, attract new businesses, and improve the Commonwealth's economy; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Joint Commission on Technology and Science be directed to study the Commonwealth's aerospace industry.

In conducting its study, the Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS) shall (i) review all aspects of the Commonwealth's aerospace industry, including all aerospace and aviation schools within the Commonwealth, aerospace and aviation programs hosted in the Commonwealth's public and private institutions of higher education, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems test site program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, aerospace and aviation launch and landing sites, data centers and repositories, workforce associations, regulations governing aviation and aerospace, and current efforts of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership related to the aerospace industry; (ii) identify strategies to grow Denbigh High School’s Aviation Academy and encourage its transformation into a statewide program, to be named the Virginia Aviation Academy; (iii) recommend strategies to grow NASA's Wallops Flight Facility; (iv) identify federally funded research and development activities in the Commonwealth and recommend strategies to create additional opportunities for such activities; (v) collect information regarding practices and efforts used successfully in other states to grow their aerospace industries; (vi) analyze the potential gains and downfalls of eliminating taxation on aerospace and aviation parts and labor; (vii) gather information regarding opportunities in the Commonwealth related to maintenance and rehabilitation of aerospace equipment; (viii) recommend strategies to grow the Commonwealth's aerospace industry, attract new businesses, and improve the Commonwealth's economy; and (ix) consult with all relevant stakeholders.

All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Joint Commission on Technology and Science for this study, upon request.

The Joint Commission on Technology and Science shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2016, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2017 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether JCOTS intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.