§ 21-17-117 — School of energy resources; creation authorized; University of Wyoming energy resources council established; reports; budget submittal

(a) Subject to legislative appropriation and subject to
paragraph (c)(iv) of this section, the University of Wyoming
shall operate the school of energy resources.
(b) The school of energy resources shall have the
following objectives:
(i) To provide nationally competitive undergraduate
and graduate instruction in energy related disciplines,
particularly those of importance to develop Wyoming's energy
resources;
(ii) To advance the state-of-the-art in Wyoming
energy related science, technology and economics research; and
(iii) To support scientific and engineering outreach
through dissemination of information to Wyoming's energy
industries, companies, community colleges and governmental
agencies.
(c) The school of energy resources shall:
(i) Establish relationships with Wyoming energy
companies and coordinate with other energy industry
organizations to sustain and optimize the development of
Wyoming's energy portfolio. For the purposes of this section,
Wyoming's energy portfolio includes both nonrenewable and
renewable resources;
(ii) Establish relationships with the Wyoming
community colleges creating local programs to enrich students'
education in the Wyoming energy industry operations;
(iii) Maintain flexibility in its focus and structure
to be capable of responding to the changing needs of Wyoming's
energy industries with regard to instruction, research and
outreach;
(iv) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
chapter, develop and submit a budget for the school for approval
by the energy resources council and then shall submit for review
in accordance with W.S. 9-2-1010 through 9-2-1014. The school of
energy resources shall submit its budget to the governor after
approval by the energy resources council created in subsection
(e) of this section. The school of energy resources shall submit
a copy of its budget for informational purposes to the
university's board of trustees.
(d) Except as provided in paragraph (c)(iv) of this
section, the university's board of trustees shall establish the
structure and policies for operation of the school of energy
resources consistent with this section, and shall engage as many
academic departments and colleges as possible in support of the
school.
(e) The University of Wyoming energy resources council is
created and shall provide direction to the school of energy
resources regarding identifying and prioritizing issues which
should be targeted for research and outreach. The University of
Wyoming energy resources council shall consist of eleven (11)
members, including the president of the university and the
director of the Ruckleshaus institute of environment and natural
resources, both of whom are ex officio nonvoting members. One
(1) member of the house of representatives shall be appointed by
the speaker of the house and one (1) member of the senate shall
be appointed by the president of the senate. Each appointed
legislative member shall serve a two (2) year term. The
remaining seven (7) members shall be appointed for terms of
three (3) years, except that for the initial appointments two
(2) members shall be appointed for one (1) year and two (2)
members shall be appointed for two (2) years. These seven (7)
members shall represent to the greatest extent practicable the
diverse components of Wyoming's energy industries, and shall be
appointed by the governor and approved with the advice and
consent of the senate, in accordance with W.S. 28-12-101 through