2022 Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes
Act 102 - HISTORICAL AND MUSEUMS (37 PA.C.S.) - OMNIBUS AMENDMENTS

Session of 2022

No. 2022-102

 

HB 284

 

AN ACT

 

Amending Title 37 (Historical and Museums) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in general provisions, further providing for definitions; in powers and duties of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, further providing for specific powers and duties, for personal property and for documents and providing for Commonwealth archival records, for local government archival records and for access to older public records; and, in historic properties, further providing for title to historic property and for powers over certain historic property.

 

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

 

Section 1.  Section 103 of Title 37 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding definitions to read:

§ 103.  Definitions.

Subject to additional definitions contained in subsequent provisions of this title which are applicable to specific provisions of this title, the following words and phrases when used in this title shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

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"Archival record."  A record having sufficient historical value to warrant permanent preservation by the Commonwealth or a unit of local government.

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"Public record" or "record."  A record as defined in section 102 of the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.

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"State Archives."  The Pennsylvania State Archives administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

"State Archivist."  The Director of the Pennsylvania State Archives.

Section 2.  Section 302(12) of Title 37 is amended to read:

§ 302.  Specific powers and duties.

The commission shall have the power and duty to:

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(12)  Annual reports.--Annually transmit to the State Government Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report which includes the following:

(i)  A summary of the overall condition of museums and historic sites and holdings, including staffing levels and site visits by senior management personnel.

[(ii)  A report on the operation of the Conservation Center.]

(iii)  A summary of all publications completed by the commission during the prior year.

(iv)  A summary of collection deaccessioning activities.

(v)  A summary of the progress in computerization of collections and inventories.

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Section 3.  Section 304(4) of Title 37 is amended and the section is amended by adding a paragraph to read:

§ 304.  Personal property.

The commission shall have the power and duty to:

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(4)  Sale or other disposition.--Exchange or otherwise dispose of material with other museums, archival repositories, historical societies or other reliable organized groups of an educational nature; and sell at public auction historical artifacts, pursuant to its rules and regulations, provided that an historical artifact shall not be sold at public auction unless the commission has determined that the exchange or disposal of that artifact by the other means authorized by this paragraph is not feasible and that the property would not be beneficial to the commission if it were used other than as an artifact. [If the original donor was an individual, the original donor shall be notified, if he can be located, and, if the original donor is deceased, his children shall be notified, if they can be located, and be given an opportunity to reacquire the object, prior to its being offered at auction. If the original donor was not an individual, the original donor shall be notified, if it or its successor can be located, and be given an opportunity to reacquire the object, prior to its being offered at auction. The opportunity of an original donor to reacquire an object shall not be construed to diminish the commission's control over an historical artifact subsequent to its acquisition by the commission and prior to its disposition.] These sales shall be conducted by the Department of General Services. Income produced through these sales shall be paid into the State Treasury through the Department of Revenue and credited to the Historical Preservation Fund and allocated solely for collection acquisition or conservation purposes. No unique object, article, manuscript, document or other material, which is of special significance to the history of this Commonwealth, shall be sold.

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(6)  Abandoned property on loan.--Sell or otherwise dispose of property on loan to the commission in accordance with the following:

(i)  Notwithstanding the provisions of Article XIII.1 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, and unless there exists a written agreement to the contrary, any property on loan to the commission for 21 years or more and for which no person has made a claim according to records maintained by the commission shall be considered abandoned if the commission has made a reasonable effort to locate and notify the original lender.

(ii)  If no valid claim has been made to the property within 60 days after the date of the last notice provided by the commission, the commission shall have the authority to sell or otherwise dispose of the property as provided in paragraph (4).

Section 4.  Section 305 of Title 37 is amended to read:

§ 305.  Documents.

The commission shall have the power and duty to:

(1)  Research on Commonwealth documents.--Examine and copy or microfilm any public records within the control of a Commonwealth agency for the purposes of historical research.

(1.1)  Administer the State Archives.--Oversee and administer the State Archives, which shall be the official State repository for the permanent and historically valuable public records of the Commonwealth that are transferred to the commission.

(2)  Preservation of public records.--Preserve all public records throughout this Commonwealth and give special attention to the preservation of all records of the Commonwealth not in current use and of historical value; negotiate for the transfer and receipt of public records from any Commonwealth agency or political subdivision; and provide for the disposition of records not needed or useful in the transaction of current or anticipated future work of the Commonwealth under section 524 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known as The Administrative Code of 1929. The commission shall be the legal custodian of any public records transferred to it by any Commonwealth agency or political subdivision. The head of any Commonwealth agency or political subdivision may transfer to the commission public records legally in his custody not needed for the transaction of the business of the office whenever the commission is willing to receive and care for them.

(3)  Management of historical documents.--Collect, classify, preserve and make available for reference all records which may come into its possession with the exceptions indicated by the commission; and examine the condition of the public records, books, pamphlets, documents, manuscripts, archives, maps and papers filed or recorded in any Commonwealth agency or political subdivision. The executive director or any employees authorized by him shall have reasonable access to all public records in this Commonwealth for the purpose of examining them and shall report to the commission on their condition.

(4)  Regulation of Commonwealth records.--Recommend such action be taken by the persons having the care and custody of public records as may be necessary to secure their safety and preservation; cause all laws relating to public records to be enforced; and recommend and enforce uniform standards governing the use of paper, ink and filing procedure for all records and papers of Commonwealth agencies and political subdivisions that are considered of permanent historical importance.

(5)  Certificates relating to public records.--Furnish certificates relating to public records, or copies thereof, upon the payment of fees established by the commission or otherwise fixed by law.

(6)  Land records.--Maintain and preserve:

(i)  Records of the first titles acquired by the proprietaries and the Commonwealth to all the lands within its boundaries.

(ii)  Records of all lands and conveyances from the proprietaries and the Commonwealth to the purchasers of the land.

(iii)  Papers relating to the surveys of this Commonwealth and county lines and the reports of commissioners relating to the boundary lines of this Commonwealth.

(iv)  Maps and other papers pertaining to the colonial history of this Commonwealth.

(v)  Contracts, section profile maps and other records relating to public works.

(vi)  All other relevant records relating to titles of real estate acquired by the Commonwealth.

(7)  Protection and recovery of Commonwealth records.--Maintain and preserve Commonwealth records in accordance with  its powers and duties under section 305.1 (relating to Commonwealth archival records).

(8)  Protection and recovery of local government records.--Maintain and preserve local government records in accordance with its powers and duties under section 305.2 (relating to local government archival records).

(9)  Access to older public records.--Ensure access to older public records in accordance with its powers and duties under section 305.3 (relating to access to older public records).

Section 5.  Title 37 is amended by adding sections to read:

§ 305.1.  Commonwealth archival records.

(a)  Statement of policy.--It is the policy of the  Commonwealth that Commonwealth records belong to the citizens of this Commonwealth.

(b)  Sale or transfer of Commonwealth archival records prohibited.--

(1)  A person may not sell, transfer or otherwise alienate a Commonwealth archival record unless specifically authorized by law or established by approved record retention procedures of the Commonwealth.

(2)  In addition to any other penalty provided by law, a person who violates this subsection may be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $2,500.

(c)  Commission authority.--The commission, as part of its responsibilities for the operation of the State Archives, may demand the return of any Commonwealth archival record in the possession of a person, organization, institution or other entity if removal of the record from Commonwealth possession was not authorized by the Commonwealth.

(d)  Notice and demand of return.--

(1)  When the executive director, in consultation with the State Archivist, has reasonable grounds to believe that a Commonwealth archival record is in the possession of a person, organization, institution or other entity not authorized by law to possess the record, the commission may issue written notice and demand to the person, organization, institution or other entity for the immediate return of the record. The notice and demand shall be sent by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested. The notice and demand shall identify the Commonwealth archival record claimed with reasonable specificity.

(2)  Upon receipt of the notice and demand, the person, organization, institution or other entity in the possession of the Commonwealth archival record may not destroy, alter, transfer, convey or otherwise alienate the record unless authorized in writing by the executive director or by an order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(e)  Petition.--If the person, organization, institution or other entity in possession of the Commonwealth archival record refuses or fails to deliver the record on demand, the commission may petition Commonwealth Court for recovery of the record.

(f)  Seizure of Commonwealth archival records.--At any time after or contemporaneous with the filing of a petition under subsection (e), the commission may petition the court to order  the seizure of the record if there are reasonable grounds to believe the record is in danger of being destroyed, mutilated, altered, secreted, sold or otherwise removed from the unauthorized possession of the person, organization, institution or other entity. The order of seizure shall be issued with notice to the respondent upon seizure and without the posting of any bond or other security by the petitioner.

(g)  Presumption.--In any proceeding under subsection (e), there is a rebuttable presumption that Commonwealth archival records that were once in the custody of the Commonwealth were not lawfully alienated from that custody.

§ 305.2.  Local government archival records.

(a)  General rule.--If a local government agency has reasonable grounds to believe that a local government archival record is in the possession of a person, organization, institution or other entity not authorized by the local government agency to possess the record, the local government agency may request the commission to act on its behalf pursuant to the procedures specified in section 305.1 (relating to Commonwealth archival records) or may undertake on the local government agency's own behalf the same procedure available to the commission under section 305.1.

(b)  Preservation of record status.--Upon receipt of the notice and demand from the commission or a local government agency issued under this section, the person, organization, institution or other entity in the possession of the local archival record claimed to belong to the local government agency may not destroy, alter, transfer, convey or otherwise alienate the record unless authorized by the local government agency or by an order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(c)  Commission action.--If requested by a local government agency to act under subsection (a), the commission may demand return of a local archival record in the private possession of the person, organization, institution or other entity if removal of the record from government possession was not authorized by the local government agency.

§ 305.3.  Access to older public records.

(a)  Access.--Any provision of law that exempts from public disclosure an item in the custody of the State Archives shall not apply after the item becomes at least 75 years old, irrespective of:

(1)  The origin of the item.

(2)  The manner in which it was deposited with the State Archives.

(3)  Any other condition or circumstance at the time the item was deposited with the State Archives.

(b)  Applicability.--Subsection (a) shall apply to any item currently in the custody of the State Archives and any item deposited in the State Archives after the effective date of this section.

(c)  Notification to depositors.--The State Archives shall notify a party who deposits an item in the State Archives after the effective date of this section of the provisions of subsection (a).

(d)  Public notice.--The commission's publicly accessible Internet website shall include a public notice stating that on or after January 1, 2021, all items that are at least 75 years old and on deposit in the State Archives shall be accessible to the public.

(e)  Construction.--If the provisions of this section conflict with any State law limiting disclosure of vital statistics or sealed records or with Federal law, the provisions of this section shall not apply.

Section 6.  Sections 701(b)(1) introductory paragraph and 702(7), (12), (16), (17), (21), (26), (29), (32), (36), (37), (39), (41), (48), (50), (52), (59) and (61) of Title 37 are amended to read:

§ 701.  Title to historic property.

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(b)  Leases.--

(1)  For purposes of historic preservation, or for educational, recreational, residential or agricultural purposes, or for parking areas or concessions for the convenience and comfort of the public, the commission may lease historic property for a period not to exceed [five] twenty-five years to any person or organization of the Commonwealth. The commission shall lease the property in the following manner:

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§ 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:

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[(7)  Cashiers House.]

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[(12)  David Bradford House.]

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[(16)  Fort Augusta.

(17)  Fort Le Boeuf Museum.]

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[(21)  Governor Printz Park.]

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[(26)  John Brown House.]

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[(29)  Judson House.]

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[(32)  McCoy House.]

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[(36)  Nathan Denison House.

(37)  Old Brown's Mill School.]

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[(39)  Old Custom House.]

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[(41)  Old Mill Village.]

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[(48)  Pottsgrove Mansion.]

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[(50)  Robert Fulton Birthplace.]

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[(52)  Sodom School House.]

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[(59)  Tuscarora Academy.]

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[(61)  Warrior Run Church and Cemetery.]

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Section 7.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.

 

APPROVED--The 3rd day of November, A.D. 2022.

 

TOM WOLF