CHAPTER 131

An Act requiring the New Jersey Historical Commission to establish two programs for the support of activities in New Jersey history, supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes and making an appropriation.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

C.18A:73-22.1 Findings, declarations relative to support of activities in New Jersey history.

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. The Task Force on New Jersey History was established pursuant to P.L.1994, c.146 to study the ways history services are delivered to the people of this State and to make recommendations for improvements in the delivery of such services;

b. The Task Force conducted a detailed and comprehensive study and submitted its report to the Legislature and the Governor in June of 1997;

c. The report includes 36 recommendations for ways to strengthen the structure and function of agencies and organizations that provide New Jersey history services to the public;

d. In combination with other recent studies of aspects of New Jersey history and the cultural life of New Jersey, the Task Force's report provides indisputable proof that New Jersey's program of history services has suffered for many years from severe underfunding, especially in comparison with funding provided to other cultural interests in the State and to history services in other states; and

e. This underfunding has resulted in deteriorating historic sites and collections of historical artifacts and materials; inadequate education of collections management personnel in the techniques of collection preservation; inadequate training of volunteers who staff historic sites; insufficient research and publication on New Jersey history; inadequate maintenance and interpretation of State-owned and other historic sites; and low levels of innovation in and support of the tourism industry on New Jersey's heritage.

The Legislature therefore deems it necessary that the residents of a democratic and increasingly diverse society such as the State of New Jersey be provided with greater access to the materials of their history in order to understand how our society developed and to safeguard its continued free and open evolution; and that increased funding for history services is needed so that the agencies and organizations that provide these services can provide them more adequately to the people of New Jersey and their historical institutions.

C.18A:73-22.2 Definitions relative to support of activities in New Jersey history.

2. For the purposes of this act:

"General operating support" means support for expenses incurred in categories such as, but not limited to: wages, salaries and fringe benefits; insurance; utilities; installation and maintenance of appropriate environmental conditions in which to maintain collections; facility and equipment leases and rentals; facility maintenance; materials, supplies, and equipment; and staff training in museum operations, collections acquisition and maintenance, or management, exhibition, and presentation of educational programs for the public by historical agencies, organizations or entities;

"Historic site" means a structure or a site associated with the history of New Jersey that is on the State or National Register of Historic Places, or is eligible for placement on the State or national register, and that is owned or administered by a not-for-profit organization or by an agency of county or local government;

"Historical society" or "historical library"or "history museum" means a not-for-profit organization or an agency of county or local government that, within a museum or library environment, houses collections of New Jersey historical materials, presents historical collections to the public in the form of exhibitions or educational programs, and makes such collections available to the public for research; and

"Related agency or organization" means a not-for-profit entity that performs functions similar to those carried out by history museums, historic sites, historical societies, historical libraries,or historical agencies of local or county government for the purpose of providing history services, and that adheres to the same standards of performance as those museums, libraries,sites, societies or agencies, although its primary mission may not be the provision of New Jersey history services to the public.

C.18A:73-22.3 Establishment of programs.

3. a. The New Jersey Historical Commission within the Department of State shall establish:

(1) A program for the purpose of awarding grants from the fund established pursuant to subsection a. of section 4 of this act for general operating support to public or private historical libraries, history museums, historical societies, historic sites, historical agencies of county or local governments, or any related agency or organization; and

(2) A program for the purpose of awarding grants from the fund established pursuant to subsection a. of section 4 of this act to organizations, entities or individuals in support of research and publication on New Jersey history.

b. (1) The commission shall develop guidelines and criteria for each program established pursuant to subsection a. of this section. The guidelines and criteria shall include, but not be limited to: eligibility requirements for applicants; conditions under which applications will be approved; conditions which may be required to be met by approved applicants; forms for applications; application contents; an application acceptance and review process; the manner of awarding of monies to approved applicants; and oversight or accountability for the expenditure of monies awarded to approved applicants. The commission shall establish program guidelines and criteria and advertise the programs in such a way as to develop a pool of applicants that reflects the racial, ethnic, and geographical diversity of the State.

(2) The commission shall develop the guidelines and criteria for each program utilizing the definitions set forth in section 2 of this act and in consultation with: Advocates for New Jersey History; New Jersey State Archives; Association of New Jersey County Cultural and Historic Agencies; Division of Parks and Forestry, Department of Environmental Protection; Genealogical Society of New Jersey; Historic Preservation Office, Department of Environmental Protection; League of Historical Societies of New Jersey; Newark Public Library; New Jersey Association of Museums; New Jersey Caucus, Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference; New Jersey Council for the Humanities; New Jersey Council for the Social Studies; New Jersey Historic Trust; New Jersey Historical Society; New Jersey Library Association; New Jersey State Library; New Jersey State Museum; New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance; Northern New Jersey Museum Round Table; Preservation New Jersey; and Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries. In addition, the commission shall consult with at least three historians distinguished by their knowledge of New Jersey history and their record of publication in the field in developing the guidelines and criteria for the program established pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection a. of this section.

c. (1) All applications received by the commission for grants to be awarded under the programs established pursuant to this section shall be reviewed and evaluated by a panel of reviewers selected by the commission. A separate panel of reviewers shall be selected for each program. The commission shall identify a pool of potential panel reviewers for each program and shall select from that pool the panel for each program to review the applications received for the program. Each panel shall be composed of persons who are experts in the area for which the program provides support. The panel of reviewers for each program shall evaluate each application received for a grant to be awarded under the program and make recommendations to the commission.

(2) The commission shall make the final decision on each application received, taking into consideration the recommendations of the panel of reviewers. The commission, may within its discretion, offer an approved applicant an award amount less than the amount requested by the applicant.

d. (1) The commission shall inform the public about the programs established pursuant to subsection a. of this section in a manner determined by the commission to result in as wide a dissemination of information as possible within the limits of monies available to the commission for this purpose. The commission may utilize such methods for the dissemination of information as may be available to State agencies for the dissemination of information on other such programs.

(2) At the request of the applicant, the commission shall provide advice, in any manner the commission deems appropriate, to interested applicants on the preparation of their applications.

C.18A:73-22.4 Establishment of fund, uses.

4. a. There is hereby established within the Department of State a revolving, nonlapsing fund which shall be credited with the monies appropriated in section 5 of this act and such other monies as may be appropriated or made available to the New Jersey Historical Commission for the purposes of the programs established pursuant to subsection a. of section 3 of this act. The fund shall be administered by the Secretary of State and all disbursements from the fund shall be made by the secretary at the request of the commission. Disbursements from the fund shall be solely for the purposes of the programs established in subsection a. of section 3 of this act and disbursements for a program shall be made from the separate account in the fund created for the purposes of that program. Any interest that shall accrue on the monies in the fund shall be credited to the fund, and to each separate account within the fund as determined by the secretary.

b. The secretary shall create two separate accounts within the fund. The first of the accounts shall be credited with the monies appropriated or made available for the purposes of the program established pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection a. of section 3 of this act. The second of the accounts shall be the credited with the monies appropriated or made available for the purposes of the program established pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection a. of section 3 of this act.

c. Of the monies credited to the account created for the purposes of the program established pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection a. of section 3 of this act, the commission may annually expend an amount of up to 10 % of the monies in the account to undertake special initiatives to stimulate research and publication in the field of New Jersey history.

d. (1) Of the monies credited to the account created for the purposes of the program established pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection a. of section 3 of this act, the commission may expend annually an amount of up to 1.75 % of the monies in the account for necessary expenses incurred for the administration of that program, including expenses in categories such as, but not limited to:salary and fringe benefits for one assistant grant administrator; office equipment and supplies; printing and postage to publish program guidelines and criteria and advertise the program; and travel and maintenance for the members of the review panel selected pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection c. of section 3 of this act.

(2) Of the monies credited to the account created for the purposes of the program established pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection a. of section 3 of this act, the commission may expend annually an amount of up to 2.0 % of the monies in the account for necessary expenses incurred for the administration of that program, including expenses in categories such as, but not limited to, office equipment and supplies; printing and postage to publish program guidelines and criteria and advertise the program; and travel and maintenance for the members of the review panel selected pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection c. of section 3 of this act.

5. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of State $4,500,000 for deposit into the fund established pursuant to subsection a. of section 4 of this act. Of the amount herein appropriated, $4,000,000 shall be credited to the account created for the purposes of the program established pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection a. of section 3 of this act, and $500,000 shall be credited to the account created for the purposes of the program established pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection a. of section 3 of this act.

6. This act shall take effect immediately, except that section 5 shall remain inoperative until July 1st next following enactment.

Approved June 25, 1999.