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Specific powers and duties - 37 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 302

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     § 302.  Specific powers and duties.
        The commission shall have the power and duty to:
            (1)  Pecuniary gifts.--Accept, on behalf of the
        Commonwealth, gifts and bequests, including securities, for
        the endowment of its work in accordance with the instructions
        of the donors and in conjunction with the Governor and State
        Treasurer, who shall, together with the members of the
        commission, constitute a body of trustees for the care of
        these funds. These trustees shall invest the funds in bonds
        of the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions and
        employ the interest and income from these investments for the
        purposes of the commission or apply these funds to the uses
        specified by the respective donors of the funds. Any donor of
        money or other property may specify that the donation shall
        be held in the form acquired, or shall be invested in or
        converted into some other specific property or class of
        investment, in which case the trustees shall be relieved of
        all liability which may result from the imprudent investment
        of the money so long as they comply with the instructions of
        the donor.
            (2)  Independent and cooperative services or programs.--
        Upon its own initiative or in cooperation with historical
        societies or organizations, conduct investigations upon
        historical or archaeological matters relative to this
        Commonwealth and report the findings for public information;
        with the approval of the Governor, enter into agreements with
        responsible historical associations, foundations and similar
        private organizations or with Federal agencies or public
        agencies of other states in order to carry on services or
        programs.
            (3)  Archaeological and anthropological investigations.--
        Examine, or cause to be examined, research or excavate the
        occupation or activity sites or areas and the cultural
        material remains of Native American, Colonial American and
        more recent American cultures in this Commonwealth, under the
        professional direction of the commission through the
        techniques of archaeology, anthropology and history; acquire,
        by purchase, gift or fieldwork, archaeological or
        anthropological collections of objects and data relative to
        the cultural history of this Commonwealth; conduct, or cause
        to be conducted, archaeological site surveys to locate,
        catalog, assess and permanently record these historic
        resources throughout this Commonwealth; maintain a central
        repository for map locations and written descriptions of such
        sites and historic resources; conduct, or cause to be
        conducted, research upon the cultural objects and data
        related to the cultural history of this Commonwealth and
        interpret the results of the research in scientific and
        popular publications, exhibits and special educational
        programs for the public; and undertake appropriate
        conservation, research, restoration and storage of all
        material items and data relative to the cultural heritage of
        this Commonwealth, which accrue to the archaeological and
        anthropological collections of the commission.
            (4)  Cooperation with qualified historical or
        archaeological societies.--Cooperate with any qualified
        historical or archaeological society in investigations of
        historical or archaeological matters relating to this
        Commonwealth and in arranging, cataloging, displaying and
        microfilming collections of historical papers and documents,
        and objects or materials relative to the natural or cultural
        history of this Commonwealth, and otherwise encourage their
        activities.
            (5)  Historical commemorations.--Develop, coordinate and
        carry out plans for celebrations commemorating important
        historical events, which shall be selected by the commission
        or the General Assembly upon passage of a concurrent
        resolution, in cooperation with qualified historical or
        archaeological societies and other responsible organizations.
            (6)  Geographic names.--Determine all unsettled questions
        concerning geographic names which arise in any department and
        determine the names of mountains, rivers, creeks and other
        topographic features in this Commonwealth. In the exercise of
        its powers and the performance of its duties under this
        paragraph, the commission shall cooperate with the United
        States Board on Geographic Names.
            (7)  Procurement of expert advice.--Consult with or
        procure the advice of experts in archaeology, anthropology,
        history, historical restoration, archival management, museum
        work or other fields related to its activities, compensate
        them for their services and establish committees of experts
        as needed to procure the advice.
            (8)  Museum assistance and local history grant program.--
        Establish and administer the museum assistance and local
        history grant program. The commission shall be required to
        approve all individual grants. All such grants shall be
        subject to audit review by the commission.
            (9)  Advisory boards.--Create such advisory boards as the
        commission may deem appropriate to perform duties designated
        by the commission. The names of proposed members of such
        advisory boards shall be submitted to the Governor for
        approval.
            (10)  Police powers.--Exercise the police powers
        necessary to enforce the law, including the rules and
        regulations of the commission. Authorized employees shall
        have full power to make arrests, with or without warrant, for
        all violations of law which they may witness upon the
        premises of any historic property to which they are assigned
        and may serve and execute warrants issued by proper
        authorities for any violation of law committed thereon.
            (11)  Rules and regulations.--Promulgate rules and
        regulations necessary for the implementation of its powers
        and duties.
            (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.
            (13)  Hold harmless authority.--Hold the Federal
        Government harmless from damages due to construction,
        operation and maintenance of the Erie Harbor East Canal Basin
        dredging project under the Water Resources Development Act of
        1986 (Public Law 99-662, 33 U.S.C. § 2213(j)), except for
        damages due to the fault or negligence of the Federal
        Government or its contractors.
            (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.
     (Nov. 23, 1994, P.L.639, No.97, eff. imd.; Dec. 9, 2002,
     P.L.1395, No.173, eff. imd.)

        2002 Amendment.  Act 173 added par. (14).
        1994 Amendment.  Act 97 added par. (13).

Last modified: November 27, 2007