NY State Senate Bill S8934

Archive: Last Bill Status Via A9710 - Vetoed by Governor

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
Delivered to Governor
Vetoed by Governor

Your Voice

Please enter your contact information

First Name *

Last Name *

Email Address *

A valid email address is required.

Home address search or enter your address manually *

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Leave this field blank

Actions

view actions (11)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Nov 23, 2022	tabled vetoed memo.64
Nov 22, 2022	delivered to governor
Jun 02, 2022	returned to assembly passed senate 3rd reading cal.1690 substituted for s8934
Jun 02, 2022	substituted by a9710
May 31, 2022	ordered to third reading cal.1690 committee discharged and committed to rules
Apr 29, 2022	referred to cultural affairs, tourism, parks and recreation

Votes

Co-Sponsors

S8934 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9710
Law Section:: Economic Development
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S1124, A2287

S8934 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Directs the department of economic development, in conjunction with other departments and entities, to conduct a comprehensive study of public and private museums, including taking a census of public and private museums in the state, and to report the findings and recommendations of such study.

S8934 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S8934

SPONSOR: COONEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act in relation to conducting a study of public and private museums
in New York state

 
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:

From world class art museums to iconic halls of fame to beloved local
historical societies, museums are inextricably linked to New York
State's identity, economy and history. Yet museums in New York State
lack a true "home" and a clear and viable funding structure. In order to
ensure the protection of collections and the sustainability of, and the
equitable distribution of funds, this bill directs the Department of
Economic Development, in conjunction with the Empire State Development
Corporation, the Department of Education, the Office of Parks, Recre-
ation and Historic Preservation, the Department of Environmental Conser-
vation, the Department of State, and the New York State Council on the
Arts to conduct a study of public and private museums in New York State.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

§ 1- Directs the Department of Economic Development, in conjunction with
the Empire State Development Corporation, the Department of Education,
the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Depart-
ment of Environmental Conservation, the Department of State, and the New
York State Council on the Arts to conduct a study of public and private
museums in New York State to:

- Take a census of public and private museums in the State, including
information on the size, hours of operation, visitor statistics, funding
sources and amounts, and the subjects of the museums' collections.

- Identify the benefits, shortfalls, and consequences of the different
sources of support museums receive publicly and privately.

- Provide information and recommendations to the legislature about the
adequacy of public and private sources of the funding for museums in the
State and to serve current and future funding needs, recommend systems
of support to best ensure equitable distributions of such funds regard-
less of discipline, budget size, or location; and the continued accessi-
bility and availability of museums promoting a general interest in
cultural and historical topics, fine arts, physical and natural
sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and determine the
feasibility of a single reporting system with active oversight.

§ 2- Provides that a report of the findings, recommendations, and any
proposed legislation necessary to implement such recommendations shall
be filed with the Governor, Temporary President of the Senate, and the
Speaker of the Assembly within one year of the effective date of this
act.

§ 3- Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:


Although New York's museums contribute greatly to our state's economy
and identity - and are vital to telling our stories and protecting our
artifacts for generations there is no real "home" for museums in New
York State. In the 1950's the State Education Department started char-
tering museums, but prior to that, the Legislature and Department of
State issued museum charters. Unlike other areas the State Education
Department (SED) oversees - libraries, archives and broadcasting - SED
provides no financial assistance to museums to help them comply with
state regulations and secure their charters.  Museums are legally
required to report annually to the State Education Department's Cultural
Education Chartering Office and the Charities Bureau of the Attorney
General's Office, further adding to the fractured oversight of museums.

Most people assume the New York. State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) funds
all museums in New York State. However, NYSCA only funds 10% of the
museums in the state and funding is largely to organizations who can
interpret their collections through the lens of the arts. In fact, no
fewer than a half dozen different State agencies - including the Depart-
ment of Economic Development, Empire State Development Corporation,
State Education Department, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation, Department of Environmental Conservation, and Department
of State - as well as NYSCA - provide funding for New York's museums.
These compartmentalized funding streams and guidelines omit science and
tech centers, most history museums, children's museums, natural history
museums, and most historical societies.

New York's museums - from world famous to local history - are economic
drivers, community anchors, and tourist destinations in every county of
our state. They are repositories for New York State's history, culture,
arts, and sciences. They tell the story of the state's evolving ethnic
and racial diversity. In 2017, the American Alliance of Museums and
Oxford Economics determined the total financial impact that museums have
on the economy in New York State to be $5.37 billion, providing over
61,000 jobs, $3.9 billion in income through wages and other revenue to
the state's residents and over $482 million in state and local taxes.

Unfortunately, the lack of a home and clear funding streams has led to
the closing of much-loved museums and, in some cases, the complete loss
or severe damage of historical collections. Most recently, 100 years of
architectural collections were severely damaged by water and mold while
being housed by the Rochester Historical Society in a storage facility.

The study proposed in this legislation would not only inform policymak-
ing but also form the basis to improve public awareness of the many
museums throughout the State. It is not the intention of this legis-
lation to take anything, particularly oversight or funding, away from
agencies traditionally associated with museums, i.e. New York State
Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and the State Education Department (SED).
However, a holistic evaluation of the ways in which the state currently
supports museums in order to create a mechanism for governance and over-
sight and an equitable and clear funding system that serves art museums
as well as history museums, historic sites, historical societies, ethnic
and cultural museums, sports museums, mathematics, engineering and tech-
nology museums, physical science and natural science museums, children's
museums, nature centers and zoos, botanical gardens, and aquaria, is
critically necessary.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

Minimal.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S8934 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8934
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 29, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism,
   Parks and Recreation
 
 AN ACT in relation to conducting a study of public and  private  museums
   in New York state
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. The department of economic development, in conjunction with
 the empire state development corporation, the department  of  education,
 the  office  of parks, recreation and historic preservation, the depart-
 ment of environmental conservation, the department of state, and the New
 York state council on the arts, is hereby directed to conduct a  compre-
 hensive  study  on  public  and private museums in the state. Such study
 shall include, but not be limited to:
   1. taking a census of public and private museums in the state, includ-
 ing information on the size, hours  of  operation,  visitor  statistics,
 funding   sources   and  amounts,  and  the  subjects  of  the  museums'
 collections, of the many museums throughout the state.
   2. identifying  the  benefits,  shortfalls  and  consequences  of  the
 different  sources  of  support  museums receive publicly and those they
 must find privately.
   3. providing information and  recommendations  so  as  to  inform  the
 legislature of the adequacy of public and private sources of the funding
 for  museums in the state and to serve current and future funding needs,
 recommend systems of support to best ensure  equitable  distribution  of
 such  funds, regardless of discipline, budget size, or location, and the
 continued accessibility and availability of museums promoting a  general
 interest  in  cultural  and  historical  topics, fine arts, physical and
 natural sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to deter-
 mine the feasibility of a single reporting system that  includes  active
 oversight.
   §  2. A report of the findings of such study, recommendations, and any
 proposed legislation necessary to implement such  recommendations  shall
 be  filed  with the governor, the temporary president of the senate, and
 the speaker of the assembly within one year after the effective date  of
 this act.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15011-01-2

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

The New York State Senate

senate Bill S8934

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status Via A9710 - Vetoed by Governor

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Jun 2, 2022 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jun 2, 2022

May 31, 2022 - Rules committee Vote

Rules Committee Vote: May 31, 2022

Co-Sponsors

S8934 (ACTIVE) - Details

S8934 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S8934 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S8934 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S8934

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Jeremy A. Cooney

Archive: Last Bill Status Via A9710 - Vetoed by Governor

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Jun 2, 2022 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jun 2, 2022

May 31, 2022 - Rules committee Vote

Rules Committee Vote: May 31, 2022

Co-Sponsors

Patrick M. Gallivan

Timothy M. Kennedy

S8934 (ACTIVE) - Details

S8934 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S8934 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S8934 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments