A. The A. L. Philpott Manufacturing Center, established from such funds as may be appropriated or provided pursuant to Chapters 217 and 668 of the 1992 Acts of Assembly, as amended, is hereby continued and redesignated the A. L. Philpott Manufacturing Extension Partnership, referred to in this chapter as the Extension Partnership. The mission of the Extension Partnership is to help create and maintain industrial and manufacturing jobs. The Extension Partnership shall:
1. Develop, demonstrate, test, and assist in the implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies.
2. Promote industrial expansion by providing manufacturing technology consulting services to manufacturers in Virginia.
3. Foster the creation of manufacturing networks and the development of buyer and supplier relationships in the region and throughout the Commonwealth.
4. Serve as a resource center for industrial training and technology transfer programs for the renewal, enhancement, and expansion of existing manufacturing enterprises and for manufacturing modernization outreach.
5. Be available as a federal demonstration center for the training of displaced workers in a manufacturing area.
6. Receive and accept any available grants, from any federal, state, or private agency, corporation, association or person, to be expended in accomplishing the goals enumerated in subdivisions 1 through 5 above.
B. The Extension Partnership shall be considered a local or regional industrial or economic development authority or organization for purposes of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).
History
1992, cc. 217, 668; 1994, cc. 31, 383; 1996, c. 336; 1997, c. 324.
