STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6226--A
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 18, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Operations -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing the
commission on New York state history and providing for its powers and
duties
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new article 28 to
2 read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 28
4 COMMISSION ON NEW YORK STATE
5 HISTORY
6 Section 825. Legislative findings and declaration of purpose.
7 826. Definitions.
8 827. Commission on New York state history.
9 828. Powers and duties.
10 829. Statewide cultural asset and heritage resources manage-
11 ment plan.
12 830. Annual state history conference.
13 830-a. State history fellowship program.
14 § 825. Legislative findings and declaration of purpose. The legisla-
15 ture determines that the state's historical assets are major educa-
16 tional, inspirational and economic resources that should be preserved,
17 enhanced and fully promoted. The state's historical assets are world
18 class destinations for visitors from around the world and should be
19 promoted as such. Having the management, interpretation and promotion
20 of the state's historical assets spread among several agencies and
21 departments has often been detrimental to the full utilization of these
22 assets for the people of the state. Therefore, the legislature finds
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09721-04-3
A. 6226--A 2
1 that establishing a commission on New York state history that will
2 advise the governor, agencies and the legislature as to the best ways to
3 protect, preserve and promote the invaluable historical assets of the
4 state is in the best interest of the people of the state.
5 The legislature further finds that the protection, preservation and
6 promotion of our historical assets is fundamental to the education of
7 the citizenry and our concern for the quality of life of the residents
8 of the state. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state to
9 conserve, improve, beneficially use and protect its historical assets in
10 order to enhance the education, health, safety and welfare of the people
11 of the state, and their overall economic and social well-being. It shall
12 further be the policy of the state to improve and coordinate the histor-
13 ical asset plans, functions, powers and programs of the state, in coop-
14 eration with the federal government, regions, local governments, other
15 public and private organizations, and the concerned individual, and to
16 help develop and manage the historical assets to the end that the state
17 may fulfill its responsibility as trustee of our cultural and heritage
18 resources for the present and future generations. Furthermore, it shall
19 be the policy of the state to foster, promote, create and maintain
20 conditions under which man and nature can thrive in harmony with each
21 other, and achieve social, economic and technological progress for pres-
22 ent and future generations by:
23 a. assuring surroundings which are healthful and aesthetically pleas-
24 ing;
25 b. guaranteeing that the widest range of beneficial uses of cultural
26 and heritage resources are attained without risk to health or safety,
27 unnecessary degradation, or other undesirable or unintended conse-
28 quences;
29 c. promoting patterns of development and technology which minimize
30 adverse impact on our cultural and heritage resources; and
31 d. preserving the unique qualities of special resources such as state
32 historic sites, state designated heritage areas, sites on the national
33 register of historic places, paintings, sculptures and other artistic
34 creations, museums, gardens and performing arts venues, providing that
35 care is taken for cultural and heritage resources that are shared with
36 the other states of the United States and with Canada in the manner of a
37 good neighbor.
38 § 826. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context other-
39 wise requires, the following words and terms shall have the meanings
40 ascribed to them:
41 a. "Commission" means the commission on New York history.
42 b. "Director" means the director of the commission.
43 c. "Heritage area" means a definable urban or regional area of public
44 and private uses, ranging in size from a portion of a municipality to a
45 regional area, with a special coherence, and such area being distin-
46 guished by physical and cultural resources (natural and/or man made
47 including waterways, architecture, or artifacts reflecting a period of
48 style or cultural heritage) which play a vital role in the life of the
49 community and/or region and contribute through interpretive, educational
50 and recreational use to the public. A heritage area may include tradi-
51 tional parks (pleasure grounds set apart for recreation of the public)
52 and historic places or property on the national or state register of
53 historic places. However such term shall not be deemed to mean a park
54 or historic place, as those terms are used in other provisions of law,
55 including those relating to alienation of park land and regulation of
56 public or private activities. Such other provisions of law shall contin-
A. 6226--A 3
1 ue to apply to the specific parks and historic places within a heritage
2 area. The term "heritage area" shall be deemed to include areas that
3 have been previously designated as urban culture parks and heritage
4 corridors or other similar names applied to areas of special concern
5 fitting the definition of a heritage area.
6 d. "Historical asset" means any property, real or otherwise, built
7 structure, event, artifact, object or document deemed significant to the
8 history and heritage of the people of the state.
9 e. "Historic preservation" means the study, designation, protection,
10 restoration, rehabilitation and use of buildings, structures, historic
11 districts, areas, and sites significant in the history, architecture,
12 archeology or culture of this state, its communities or the nation.
13 f. "Museum" means an institution or association, chartered by the
14 regents or the legislature pursuant to section two hundred sixteen of
15 the education law, that exists for the purposes of collecting, preserv-
16 ing and interpreting collections of objects.
17 § 827. Commission on New York state history. a. There shall be estab-
18 lished the commission on New York state history to consist of the
19 commissioners of education and the office of parks, recreation and
20 historic preservation, the chair of the New York state cultural educa-
21 tion trust, the state librarian, the state archivist, the director of
22 the state museum, the director of the state division of tourism, a
23 representative of one of the state's native American tribes, and six
24 appointed members, two of whom shall be appointed by the governor, and
25 two each by the temporary president of the senate and speaker of the
26 assembly. Each appointed member shall serve for a term of four years and
27 shall continue in office until a successor has been appointed. The
28 appointed commission members shall be qualified by education and experi-
29 ence in the fields of history, library science, museum studies, public
30 history, archive planning and management, heritage area management,
31 anthropology, archeology or other related professional discipline. The
32 members of the commission shall receive no compensation for their
33 services but shall be reimbursed for their expenses actually and neces-
34 sarily incurred in the performance of their duties within the amount
35 available therefor by appropriation. Notwithstanding any inconsistent
36 provision of law, no officer or employee of the state or of any civil
37 division thereof, shall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit his
38 or her office or employment by reason of his or her acceptance of
39 membership on such commission.
40 b. The commission shall choose from among its appointed members a
41 chairman, vice-chairman and secretary. The term of office of each such
42 officer appointed shall be for two years. Each officer of the commission
43 shall hold office until a successor has been appointed and qualified.
44 Vacancies in membership of the commission occurring from any cause shall
45 be filled by the officer authorized to make the original appointment of
46 the member whose office becomes vacant.
47 c. The commission shall hold regular meetings not less than four times
48 a year at such time and place as it may desire, and special meetings
49 when authorized and called as prescribed by the by-laws or by the chair-
50 man. Ex officio members of the commission may have a designated repre-
51 sentative.
52 § 828. Powers and duties. The commission shall have the following
53 powers and duties:
54 a. To adopt and use a seal; to sue and be sued; to appoint and remove
55 officers, agents and employees and determine their qualifications,
56 duties and compensation; to acquire, hold and dispose of personal prop-
A. 6226--A 4
1 erty; to retain or employ counsel, private consultants and independent
2 contractors; to make and execute contracts and all other instruments
3 necessary or convenient for the exercise of its powers and functions
4 under this article;
5 b. To hire staff, including a director, upon approval of the commis-
6 sion, to assist the commission in implementation of its duties;
7 c. To prepare, publish and disseminate information or reports to high-
8 light for state agencies, local governments and the general public
9 issues, problems and opportunities relevant to the historical assets of
10 the state, in concert with state and federal agencies and others;
11 d. To stimulate action by public and private organizations on issues,
12 problems and opportunities that affect the historical assets of the
13 state including, but not limited to, conferences, meetings and work-
14 shops;
15 e. To request and receive from any department, division, office,
16 board, bureau, commission, agency or instrumentality of the state and
17 from any political subdivision or agency thereof, such assistance and
18 data as will enable it to conduct its studies and investigations pursu-
19 ant to this article;
20 f. To assist state agencies, local historians, local governments and
21 other appropriate state, federal and local organizations to plan and
22 work towards the protection, preservation and promotion of the histor-
23 ical assets of the state through coordination and cooperation, and
24 through technical assistance, including planning assistance, training,
25 citizen education and participation assistance, and assistance in the
26 preparation of grant applications to other entities;
27 g. To serve a coordinating role in utilizing the capabilities of other
28 state and local organizations to carry out the duties prescribed in this
29 section;
30 h. To establish a central clearinghouse for historical studies, which
31 may be used by members of the public, local governments and state agen-
32 cies in addressing state and regionwide issues related to the
33 protection, preservation and promotion of historical assets;
34 i. To develop agreements with local, county and regional agencies to
35 provide staff services through grants or contracts to help finance
36 services for intermunicipal cooperation; to provide planning services in
37 conjunction with state agencies, county planning departments and
38 regional planning boards; and to provide supplementary technical assist-
39 ance and educational services through public or private groups;
40 j. To apply for and receive from the federal and state governments,
41 and public and private agencies, funds to accomplish the purposes of the
42 commission and to solicit, receive and utilize gifts and donations of
43 any kind from any source;
44 k. To assist municipalities in preparing and adopting comprehensive
45 historical asset planning programs, including appropriate laws, ordi-
46 nances and codes;
47 1. To enter into agreements for the extension of its powers and duties
48 to local governments, in concert with local, state and federal agencies
49 and others; and
50 m. To lease and manage real property, solely for the purpose of
51 providing for the official offices of the commission.
52 § 829. Statewide cultural asset and heritage resources management
53 plan. a. The commission shall formulate and from time to time revise a
54 statewide cultural and heritage resources management plan for the
55 management and protection of the quality of the cultural and heritage
A. 6226--A 5
1 resources of the state, in furtherance of the legislative policy and
2 purposes expressed in this article.
3 b. The commission shall submit an initial plan to the governor and to
4 the legislature on or before September first, 2015, and thereafter shall
5 annually submit periodic revisions of such plan to the governor and to
6 the legislature. Such plan and revisions shall become effective upon
7 approval by the governor and shall serve thereafter as a guide to the
8 public.
9 c. In formulating such plan and any revisions, the commission shall:
10 (1) conduct one or more public hearings;
11 (2) consult and cooperate with:
12 (i) officials of departments and agencies of the state having duties
13 and responsibilities concerning the cultural and heritage resources;
14 (ii) officials and representatives of the federal government, neigh-
15 boring states and interstate agencies on problems affecting the environ-
16 ment of this state;
17 (iii) officials and representatives of local government in the state;
18 (iv) officials and representatives of museums, art and cultural insti-
19 tutions, industry and education; and
20 (v) persons, organizations and groups, public or private, utilizing,
21 served by, interested in or concerned with the cultural and heritage
22 resources of the state; and
23 (3) request and receive from any department, division, board, bureau,
24 commission or other agency of the state or any political subdivision
25 thereof or any public authority such assistance and data as may be
26 necessary to enable the department to carry out its responsibilities
27 under this section.
28 § 830. Annual state history conference. The commission shall coordi-
29 nate and conduct an annual conference on state history that will include
30 speakers and workshops on the protection, preservation and promotion of
31 the state's historical assets. The conference shall take place in a
32 different area of the state each year and shall be free of charge and
33 open to the public.
34 § 830-a. State history fellowship program. The commission shall coor-
35 dinate, recruit and train volunteers with backgrounds and interest in
36 New York state history to act as fellows to be made available to state
37 history organizations by the commission. Fellows will provide program
38 support to not-for-profit history organizations at no cost to the organ-
39 ization. Fellowship program volunteers shall provide, based on their
40 experience and training, organizational support in visitor outreach,
41 educational programming and outreach, the evaluation of programs and
42 strategic plans, fundraising and grant writing, and the expansion of
43 volunteer programs.
44 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
45 have become a law.