Section 37-115-131 - 2023 Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom Fund created; use of moniesA special fund, to be designated as the "2023 Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom Fund", is created within the State Treasury. The fund shall be maintained by the State Treasurer as a separate and special fund, separate and apart from the General Fund of the state. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the fund shall be deposited into such fund. Monies deposited into the fund shall be expended by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to support the operations of the Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom ("Center") at the University of Mississippi, subject to the conditions that the Center shall:
(a) Promote scholarly research and civic education by exploring the principles of freedom expressed in our country's founding documents; (b) Support individual faculty members at institutions of higher learning who have been named Declaration Fellows and who actively participate in the Center's network of scholars and further the mission and principles of the Center; (c) Support classes, activities, and internships that advance students' understanding of American freedom at both the secondary and post-secondary level of education, including support for the operation of any Freedom Studies minor that may be available for academic credit at the University of Mississippi, as well as support for all Freedom Studies courses belonging to this minor; and (d) Continue to be governed and advised in accordance with the Center governing structure described in the last paragraph of the Center mission statement signed by the Chancellor, Provost and founding Director of the Center and received in the Office of the Chancellor on March 1, 2023. Laws, 2023, ch. 549, § 25, eff. 4/21/2023.