S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  7885

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                             April 28, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of A. McENENY, CANESTRARI, COOK, ORTIZ, SCHIMMINGER,
  MARKEY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ABBATE,  DESTITO,  GOTTFRIED,
  HAWLEY,  PRETLOW, SCHROEDER -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Tourism, Arts and Sports Development

AN ACT to amend the arts and cultural affairs law and the education law,
  in relation to authorizing the appointment of community historians  to
  serve  community  districts  of  New  York city and the designation of
  these and other local government historians, and the duties  of  local
  government  historians  to  act  in support of local tourism promotion
  agencies

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Statement  of  legislative intent. The legislature hereby
finds and declares that the responsibilities of local government  histo-
rians in collecting, preserving, and interpreting the historic resources
of their communities are significant and important to current and future
generations.  The legislature finds, however, that an inequity exists in
the services provided by local government historians to  the  people  of
New  York city. The historic resources of upstate and Long Island commu-
nities are collected, preserved, and interpreted by county, city,  town,
and  village  historians at each level of local government. However, the
history of the people of New York city, with  its  vast  population,  is
served  by  the  five  borough historians alone, and the heritage of the
historic neighborhoods of New York city is therefore at risk. The legis-
lature therefore finds and declares that community  historians,  serving
the  community  districts  or neighborhoods, are necessary to adequately
collect, preserve, and interpret the community resources of the historic
neighborhoods of New York city and may  materially  assist  the  borough
historians  in  collecting,  preserving, and interpreting the history of
the five boroughs.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD11365-02-9

              

A. 7885                             2

  S 2. Subdivision 1 of section 57.07 of the arts and  cultural  affairs
law,  as  amended by chapter 737 of the laws of 1987, is amended to read
as follows:
  1.  (A)  A  [local  historian] PERSON OR INDIVIDUAL shall be appointed
LOCAL GOVERNMENT HISTORIAN, as provided in this section, for each  city,
town  or  village, except that in a city of over one million inhabitants
[a] AN ADDITIONAL local GOVERNMENT historian [shall]  MAY  be  appointed
for  each borough AND FOR EACH COMMUNITY DISTRICT therein instead of for
the BOROUGH OR city at large; and a county historian  may  be  appointed
for  each  county.  Such  historian shall be appointed as follows: For a
city OF UNDER ONE MILLION INHABITANTS, by the mayor; for a  borough  AND
FOR  A  COMMUNITY DISTRICT, by the borough president; for a town, by the
supervisor; for a village, by the mayor; for a county, by the  board  of
supervisors OR AS PROVIDED IN A DULY ADOPTED COUNTY CHARTER. Such histo-
rian [shall serve without compensation, unless] MAY BE PAID BY APPROPRI-
ATIONS  MADE  AVAILABLE  FOR THAT PURPOSE, BY the governing board of the
city, town, village or county for or in which he or she was appointed or
in the city of New York, the [mayor, shall  otherwise  provide]  BOROUGH
PRESIDENT.  In a city having a board of estimate, other than the city of
New York, a resolution or ordinance establishing compensation or  salary
for such historian shall not take effect without the concurrence of such
board.
  (B) EACH LOCAL GOVERNMENT HISTORIAN SHALL RESEARCH AND WRITE OR OTHER-
WISE  PROMULGATE  THE  HISTORY  OF  THEIR  COMMUNITIES; SHALL SERVE AS A
HISTORICAL RESOURCE PERSON FOR SCHOLARS, TEACHERS, AND  THE  SCHOOLS  IN
THEIR  COMMUNITIES;  SHALL  ORGANIZE  AND  PROMOTE HISTORIC PRESERVATION
PROJECTS, INCLUDING THE SUITABLE MARKING OF HISTORIC SITES OR STRUCTURES
IN THEIR COMMUNITIES; SHALL ORGANIZE HISTORIC COMMEMORATIONS  AND  CELE-
BRATIONS  IN  THEIR  COMMUNITIES;  AND  SHALL PERFORM SUCH OTHER HISTORY
RELATED DUTIES AS MAY BE DIRECTED BY THEIR APPOINTING AUTHORITY.
  (C) IN ADDITION TO OTHER POWERS AND DUTIES, LOCAL GOVERNMENT  HISTORI-
ANS  MAY PROVIDE ADVICE, UPON THE REQUEST OF THE TOURIST PROMOTION AGEN-
CY, AS DEFINED IN SECTION ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-TWO OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOP-
MENT LAW, FOR A COUNTY OR A CITY OF ONE MILLION INHABITANTS OR  MORE  IN
WHICH  HE OR SHE IS LOCATED, OR ASSIST UPON THE REQUEST OF OTHER MUNICI-
PAL AND MUNICIPALLY-SPONSORED  ORGANIZATIONS  AND  AGENCIES  ENGAGED  IN
TOURISM  PROMOTION WHICH SERVE THE SAME MUNICIPALITY FOR WHICH HE OR SHE
IS APPOINTED, IN IDENTIFYING OR DEVELOPING PHYSICAL OR CULTURAL HISTORIC
ASSETS AS TOURIST ATTRACTIONS,  PROVIDED  THAT  THE  PROVISION  OF  SUCH
ADVICE  IS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT HISTORIAN AND SHALL
NOT INTERFERE WITH OTHER PRESCRIBED DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
  (D) Each local government historian shall  promote  the  establishment
and improvement of programs for the management and preservation of local
government records with enduring value for historical or other research;
encourage  the  coordinated  collection  and  preservation of HISTORICAL
ARTIFACTS AND nongovernmental historical records by MUSEUMS,  libraries,
historical societies, and other repositories; and carry out and actively
encourage  research  in  such  records in order to add to the knowledge,
understanding and appreciation of the community's history.
  (E) The local authorities of the city, town, village [or], county,  OR
BOROUGH for which such historian is appointed, may provide the historian
with sufficient space in a safe, vault or other fire proof structure for
the preservation of historical materials [collected]. Such local author-
ities  and  also the board of supervisors of each of the counties of the
state are hereby authorized and empowered to appropriate, raise  by  tax
and expend moneys for historical purposes within their several jurisdic-

A. 7885                             3

tions, including historical edifices, the erection of historical markers
and  monuments,  the collection of war mementos, and, either alone or in
cooperation with patriotic or historical organizations, the  preparation
and  publication  of  local  histories  and records and the printing and
issuing of other historical materials in aid of the work  of  the  local
historian.
  (F)  AS USED IN THIS SUBDIVISION, "COMMUNITY DISTRICT" MEANS COMMUNITY
DISTRICT IDENTIFIED IN SECTION TWENTY-SEVEN HUNDRED ONE OF THE NEW  YORK
CITY CHARTER.
  S  3.  The  education  law is amended by adding a new section 229-a to
read as follows:
  S 229-A. LOCAL GOVERNMENT HISTORIANS; DESIGNATION. 1. A BOROUGH, COUN-
TY, CITY, TOWN, VILLAGE, OR COMMUNITY HISTORIAN  APPOINTED  PURSUANT  TO
SECTION  57.07  OF THE ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS LAW WILL BE PLACED ON A
ROSTER OF RECOGNIZED LOCAL GOVERNMENT HISTORIANS. SUCH LIST  WILL  SERVE
AS  A  RESOURCE  FOR  LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS IN PURVEYING IMPORTANT
INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THE PRESERVATION, PROTECTION AND PROMOTION  OF
NEW  YORK STATE HISTORY. THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT HISTORIAN DESIGNATION LIST
SHALL BE MAINTAINED AND PLACEMENT ON SUCH LIST CONFIRMED  BY  THE  STATE
HISTORIAN AND THE OFFICE OF CULTURAL EDUCATION. IT WILL BE THE RESPONSI-
BILITY   OF THE LOCAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY TO NOTIFY THE STATE HISTORIAN
AND THE OFFICE OF CULTURAL EDUCATION WHEN A LOCAL  GOVERNMENT  HISTORIAN
VACANCY  OCCURS OR WHEN A NEW LOCAL GOVERNMENT HISTORIAN IS APPOINTED TO
SERVE. THE ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC HISTORIANS   OF NEW  YORK  STATE  SHALL
CONFIRM A LIST OF MEMBERS WHO SHALL QUALIFY TO ASSIST THE STATE HISTORI-
AN  AND  OFFICE  OF  CULTURAL EDUCATION IN CREATING THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT
HISTORIANS DESIGNATION LIST.
  2. THE ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC HISTORIANS OF NEW YORK STATE SHALL ESTAB-
LISH FROM AMONG THEIR MEMBERS A COMMITTEE  WHO  SHALL,  SUBJECT  TO  THE
APPROVAL  OF  THE  STATE HISTORIAN AND THE OFFICE OF CULTURAL EDUCATION,
ESTABLISH PROCEDURES FOR NOTIFYING THE STATE HISTORIAN AND THE OFFICE OF
CULTURAL EDUCATION WHEN A NEW LOCAL GOVERNMENT HISTORIAN  IS  APPOINTED.
THE  NEWLY  APPOINTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT HISTORIAN WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THE
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT HISTORIAN AS DEFINED
IN SECTION 57.07 OF THE ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS LAW.  THE  ASSOCIATION
OF  PUBLIC  HISTORIANS  OF  NEW YORK STATE SHALL, AT FIVE YEAR INTERVALS
FROM THE DATE THIS SECTION SHALL HAVE BECOME A LAW, CONDUCT A  STUDY  OF
THE  LOCAL  GOVERNMENT  HISTORIAN VACANCIES THAT EXIST IN NEW YORK STATE
AND SUBMIT THEIR FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS REMEDYING  SAID  VACANCIES
FOR  THE  REVIEW  AND  APPROVAL OF THE STATE HISTORIAN AND THE OFFICE OF
CULTURAL EDUCATION.
  S 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law; provided, however that effective  immediate-
ly,  the  addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation
necessary for the implementation of this act on its  effective  date  is
authorized  and  directed  to  be  made  and completed on or before such
effective date.