PRINTER'S NO. 219
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
284
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY METCALFE, GAYDOS, HELM, JAMES, MILLARD AND
ZIMMERMAN, JANUARY 25, 2021
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 25, 2021
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:
* * *
"Archival record." A record having sufficient historical
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value to warrant permanent preservation by the Commonwealth or a
unit of local government.
* * *
"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.
* * *
"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:
* * *
(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:
* * *
(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
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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.
* * *
(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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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, 2020 , all items that are at least 75 years
old and on deposit in the State Archives shall be accessible to
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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.
* * *
(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:
* * *
§ 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:
* * *
[(7) Cashiers House.]
* * *
[(12) David Bradford House.]
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* * *
[(16) Fort Augusta.
(17) Fort Le Boeuf Museum.]
* * *
[(21) Governor Printz Park.]
* * *
[(26) John Brown House.]
* * *
[(29) Judson House.]
* * *
[(32) McCoy House.]
* * *
[(36) Nathan Denison House.
(37) Old Brown's Mill School.]
* * *
[(39) Old Custom House.]
* * *
[(41) Old Mill Village.]
* * *
[(48) Pottsgrove Mansion.]
* * *
[(50) Robert Fulton Birthplace.]
* * *
[(52) Sodom School House.]
* * *
[(59) Tuscarora Academy.]
* * *
[(61) Warrior Run Church and Cemetery.]
* * *
Section 7. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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