A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds for the bent creek institute at the north carolina arboretum.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to Bent Creek Institute, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for the 2009‑2010 fiscal year for continuation of the Institute's core activities and partnerships facilitating research and development, new enabling technologies, North America's only medicinal herb germplasm repository, and the critical capacity for business creation and attraction in the twenty‑five billion dollar ($25,000,000,000) United States dietary supplement and functional food industries. The Bent Creek Institute, located at the North Carolina Arboretum, is leading the creation of a statewide cluster of business, jobs, and commerce centered around nutraceutical and pharmaceutical development, processing, manufacturing, and global distribution.  The Bent Creek Institute is recognized as a catalyst for profitable use of Western North Carolina's unique biodiversity and existing workforce and has established productive partnerships nationally.
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2009.