Pennsylvania Act 2002-173 — HISTORY CODE (37 PA.C.S.) - AMEND PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM COMMISSION POWERS AND DUTIES, PUBLICATIONS AND REPRODUCTIONS

Act text

HISTORY CODE (37 PA.C.S.) - AMEND PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM
       COMMISSION POWERS AND DUTIES, PUBLICATIONS AND REPRODUCTIONS
                 Act of Dec. 9, 2002, P.L. 1395, No. 173              Cl. 37
                             Session of 2002
                               No. 2002-173

     HB 2131

                                  AN ACT

     Amending Title 37 (Historical and Museums) of the Pennsylvania
        Consolidated Statutes, further providing for the Pennsylvania
        Historical and Museum Commission, for powers and duties of
        the commission and for publications and reproductions; and
        making a repeal.

        The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
     hereby enacts as follows:

        Section 1.  Sections 104(h) and 301 of Title 37 of the
     Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to read:
      § 104.  Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
        * * *
        (h)  Historical Preservation Fund.--The money collected by
     the commission from all fees, sales and other activities shall
     be paid into the State Treasury through the Department of
     Revenue and credited to the Historical Preservation Fund.
     Collections shall include the proceeds from the sale of historic
     properties. The money in the fund may be used by the commission
     and is hereby appropriated to it in exercising its powers and
     performing its duties as set forth in this title.
      § 301.  General powers and duties.
        The commission shall have the power and duty to:
            (1)  Serve as the official agency of the Commonwealth for
        the conservation of Pennsylvania's cultural heritage.
            (2)  Preserve public records, historical documents and
        objects of historical interest, possession and control of
        which have been transferred to the commission.
            (3)  Initiate, encourage, support and coordinate and
        carry out historic preservation efforts in this Commonwealth.
            (4)  Provide for historical research and interpretation
        and public access to this heritage.
            (5)  Sell to the public any publications that are
        published by any department, board, commission or officer of
        the Commonwealth.
        Section 2.  Section 302 of Title 37 is amended by adding a
     paragraph to read:
      § 302.  Specific powers and duties.
        The commission shall have the power and duty to:
            * * *
            (14)  Publications.--To sell to the public, at a store or
        by other methods, any publications selected by the commission
        for sale and published by any department, board, commission
        or officer of the Commonwealth, except documents published
        for the Governor and the General Assembly which shall be
        distributed by the Governor and the General Assembly without
        charge. To administer this paragraph, the commission may
        publish, for free distribution, a price list showing the
        publications which the commission is prepared to sell to the
        public and the charges for each publication. The commission
        shall transfer at least annually, to the fund from which the
        cost of the publication was paid, the actual cost of
        production of any publications sold during that period. Any
        remaining proceeds from the sale of a publication by the
        commission shall be deposited in the Historical Preservation
        Fund.
        Section 3.  Sections 306 and 702 of Title 37 are amended to
     read:
      § 306.  Publications and reproductions.
        The commission shall have the power and duty to:
            (1)  General.--Publish or republish, either through the
        Department of General Services or cooperatively by and with
        private historical organizations, materials of historical or
        archaeological interest; compile, edit and print these
        publications; enter into agreements with publishers to
        subsidize the publication of books on Pennsylvania history,
        archaeology, anthropology, art, cartography, folklore and
        other cultural elements of Pennsylvania's heritage by
        agreeing to purchase a sufficient number to make publication
        possible, but these agreements shall be subject to the
        approval of the Governor and the State Treasurer; produce or
        reproduce facsimiles of historical material and enter into
        agreements to subsidize the manufacture of facsimiles of
        historical material by agreeing to purchase a sufficient
        number to make manufacture possible, but these agreements
        shall be subject to the approval of the Governor and the
        State Treasurer; [and] sell publications, reprints of
        publications, reproductions or replicas, postcards and
        souvenirs of an historical nature at the State Museum and at
        the other historic properties and museums administered by the
        commission; and sell to the public any publications selected
        by the commission for sale and published by any department,
        board, commission or officer of the Commonwealth.
            (2)  Official repositories.--Establish one official
        repository for its publications from among the qualified
        historical or archaeological societies within each of the
        geographic areas established and defined by the Department of
        Community Affairs as "Standard Regions." The Pennsylvania
        State Library and the Library of Congress shall also be
        official repositories for commission publications.
            (3)  Disposition of commission publications.--Make one
        copy of each commission publication available at cost to all
        qualified historical or archaeological societies; and deliver
        one copy of each commission publication without charge to
        each official repository. The commission is excluded from the
        provisions of section 2406 of the act of April 9, 1929
        (P.L.177, No.175), known as The Administrative Code of 1929.
            (4)  Proprietary rights to subscription lists.--Maintain
        proprietary rights over subscriber, membership or address
        lists that it creates which are excluded from provisions of
        the act of June 21, 1957 (P.L.390, No.212), referred to as
        the Right-to-Know Law.
      § 702.  Powers over certain historic property.
        In addition to all other powers vested in the commission by
     this title or other statute, the commission shall exercise all
     powers conferred on it by law with respect to the historic
     properties known as:
            [(1)  Admiral Peary Monument.
            (2)  Bloody Spring.]
            (3)  Brandywine Battlefield.
            (4)  Brightbill Property.
            (5)  Bushy Run Battlefield.
            (6)  Captain Phillips' Rangers Memorial.
            (7)  Cashiers House.
            (8)  Conrad Weiser Homestead.
            (9)  Cornwall Iron Furnace.
            (10)  Curtin Village.
            (11)  Daniel Boone Homestead.
            (12)  David Bradford House.
            (13)  Drake Well Museum.
            (14)  Eckley Miners' Village.
            (15)  Ephrata Cloister.
            (16)  Fort Augusta.
            (17)  Fort Le Boeuf Museum.
            (18)  Fort Loudon.
            (19)  Fort Pitt Museum.
            (20)  French Azilum.
            (21)  Governor Printz Park.
            (22)  Graeme Park.
            (23)  Harmony Society Graveyard.
            (24)  Historic Peace Church.
            (25)  Hope Lodge.
            (26)  John Brown House.
            [(27)  Johnston Tavern.]
            (28)  Joseph Priestley House.
            (29)  Judson House.
            (30)  Landis Valley Museum.
            (31)  Mather Mill.
            (32)  McCoy House.
            [(33)  Monocacy Battlefield.]
            (34)  Morton Homestead.
            (35)  Museum of Anthracite Mining.
            (36)  Nathan Denison House.
            (37)  Old Brown's Mill School.
            (38)  Old Chester Court House.
            (39)  Old Custom House.
            (40)  Old Economy Village.
            (41)  Old Mill Village.
            [(42)  Old Stone House.]
            (43)  Pennsbury Manor.
            (44)  Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum.
            (45)  Pennsylvania Lumber Museum.
            (46)  Pennsylvania Military Museum.
            (47)  Pithole City.
            (48)  Pottsgrove Mansion.
            (49)  Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
            (50)  Robert Fulton Birthplace.
            (51)  Searights Tollhouse.
            (52)  Sodom School House.
            (53)  Somerset Historical Center.
            (54)  The Highlands.
            (55)  The Pennsylvania State Archives.
            (56)  The Scranton Iron Furnace.
            (57)  The State Museum of Pennsylvania.
            (58)  Thomas Hughes House.
            (59)  Tuscarora Academy.
            (60)  United States Brig Niagara.
            (61)  Warrior Run Church and Cemetery.
            (62)  Washington Crossing.
        Section 4.  Section 2406(h) and (j) of the act of April 9,
     1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known as The Administrative Code of
     1929, are repealed.
        Section 5.  This act shall take effect immediately.

     APPROVED--The 9th day of December, A. D. 2002.

     MARK S. SCHWEIKER