H. B. 4126
(By Delegates Martin and Schoen) (By Request)
[Introduced January 22, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §29-1-1, §29-1-2, §29-1-5 and §29-1-6
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating
to the Division of Culture and History; providing that the
division and commissioner make specific use of the archives
library in the West Virginia Science and Culture Center;
prohibiting the sale of food and drink in that building;
locating the gift shop in the basement with the museum; and
giving the Archives and History Commission
oversight and
administrative authority over the
state historian and
archivist.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §29-1-1, §29-1-2, §29-1-5 and §29-1-6 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 1. DIVISION OF CULTURE AND HISTORY.
§29-1-1. Division of Culture and History continued; sections and
commissions; purposes; definitions; effective date.
(a) The Division of Culture and History and the office of
Commissioner of Culture and History heretofore created are hereby
continued. The Governor shall nominate and, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, appoint the commissioner, who shall be
the chief executive officer of the division and shall be paid an
annual salary as provided in section two-a, article seven, chapter
six of this code. The commissioner so appointed shall have: (1)
A bachelor's degree in one of the fine arts, social sciences,
library science or a related field; or (2) four years' experience
in the administration of museum management, public administration,
arts, history or a related field.
(b) The division shall consist of five sections as follows:
(1) The arts section;
(2) The archives and history section;
(3) The museums section;
(4) The historic preservation section; and
(5) The administrative section.
(c) The division shall also consist of two citizens
commissions as follows:
(1) A Commission on the Arts; and
(2) A Commission on Archives and History.
(d) The commissioner shall exercise control and supervision of the division and shall be responsible for the projects, programs
and actions of each of its sections. The purpose and duty of the
division is to advance, foster and promote the creative and
performing arts and crafts, including both indoor and outdoor
exhibits and performances; to advance, foster, promote, identify,
register, acquire, mark and care for historical, prehistorical,
archaeological and significant architectural sites, structures and
objects in the state; to encourage the promotion, preservation and
development of significant sites, structures and objects through
the use of economic development activities such as loans,
subsidies, grants and other incentives; to coordinate all cultural,
historical and artistic activities in state government and at
state-owned facilities; to acquire, preserve and classify books,
documents, records and memorabilia of historical interest or
importance; and, in general, to do all things necessary or
convenient to preserve and advance the culture of the state.
(e) The division shall have jurisdiction and control and may
set and collect fees for the use of all space in the building
presently known as the West Virginia Science and Culture Center,
including the deck and courtyards forming an integral part thereof:
Provided, That the division shall prohibit the selling of food and
drinks in the West Virginia Science and Culture Center; the
building presently known as West Virginia Independence Hall in
Wheeling, including all the grounds and appurtenances thereof; "Camp Washington Carver" in Fayette County, as provided in section
fourteen of this article; and any other sites as may be transferred
to or acquired by the division. Notwithstanding any provision of
this code to the contrary, including the provisions of article one,
chapter five-b of this code, beginning on and after the first day
of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three, the division shall
have responsibility for, and control of, all visitor touring and
visitor tour guide activities within the State Capitol Building at
Charleston.
(f) For the purposes of this article, "commissioner" means the
Commissioner of Culture and History, and "division" means the
Division of Culture and History.
§29-1-2. General powers of commissioner.
The commissioner shall assign and allocate space in all
facilities assigned to the division and all space in the building
presently known as the West Virginia Science and Culture Center,
and any other buildings or sites under the control of the
commissioner, and may, in accordance with the provisions of chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, prescribe rules regulations and fees
for the use and occupancy of said facilities, including tours:
Provided, That the commissioner shall use the exhibit room next to
the archives reading room to expand the archives microfilm room and
locate the gift shop in the basement of the West Virginia Science
and Culture Center
along with the museum. The commissioner may not merge the archives library with the lending library which loans
books and materials.
The commissioner shall coordinate the operations and affairs
of the sections and commissions of the division and assign each
section or commission responsibilities according to criteria the
commissioner deems most efficient, productive and best calculated
to carry out the purposes of this article. The commissioner shall
provide to the fullest extent possible for centralization and
coordination of the bookkeeping, personnel, purchasing, printing,
duplicating, binding and other services which can be efficiently
combined. The commissioner may establish such other sections for
such purposes as he or she deems determines necessary, and may
appoint directors thereof of those sections. The commissioner may
appoint a director of the West Virginia Science and Culture Center.
The commissioner shall serve as the state historic preservation
officer and shall chair the Capitol Building Commission.
After consultation with the section directors and the
commissions, the commissioner shall prepare a proposed division
budget for submission to the Governor for each fiscal year.
No contract, agreement or undertaking may be entered into by
any section of the division which involves the expenditure of funds
without the express written approval of the commissioner as to
fiscal responsibility.
The commissioner shall prepare and submit to the Governor an annual report in accordance with the provisions of section twenty,
article one, chapter five of this code, which report shall include
a detailed account of the activities of each section and commission
of the division.
The commissioner shall employ all personnel for the sections,
except for persons in the professional positions established within
the sections as provided in this article; and shall supply support
services to the commissions and to the Governor's mansion advisory
committee.
§29-1-5. Archives and History Commission.
The Archives and History Commission which is hereby created
shall be composed of thirteen appointed members, two ex officio
voting members and six ex officio nonvoting members as provided in
this section.
The Governor shall nominate, and by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, appoint the members of the commission for
staggered terms of three years. A person appointed to fill a
vacancy shall be appointed only for the remainder of that term.
No more than seven of the appointed members may be of the same
political party. Members of the commission should be appointed so
as to fairly represent both sexes, the ethnic and cultural
diversity of the state and the geographic regions of the state.
The Archives and History Commission shall contain the required
professional representation necessary to carry out the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, and
shall serve as the "State Review Board" and shall follow all rules
and regulations as specified therein. This representation shall
include the following professions: Historian, architectural
historian, historical architect, archaeologist specializing in
historic and prehistoric archaeology, archivist, librarian and
museum specialist.
The commission shall elect one of its members chair. It shall
meet at such time as shall be specified by the chair. Notice of
each meeting shall be given to each member by the chair in
compliance with the open meetings law. A majority of the voting
members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
In addition to the thirteen appointed members, the president
of the state historical society and the president of the state
historical association shall serve as ex officio voting members of
the Archives and History Commission. The director of the state
geological and economic survey, the president of the West Virginia
preservation alliance, inc., and the state historic preservation
officer shall serve as ex officio nonvoting members of the Archives
and History Commission.
The directors of the archives and history section, the
historic preservation section and the museums section shall be ex
officio nonvoting members of the commission. The director of the
archives and history section shall serve as secretary of the commission. The secretary, or a majority of the members, may also
call a meeting upon such notice as provided in this section.
Each member or ex officio member of the commission shall serve
without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for all reasonable
and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of the
duties of the commission; except that in the event the expenses are
paid, or are to be paid, by a third party, the member or ex officio
member, as the case may be, shall not be reimbursed by the state.
The commission shall have the following powers:
(a) To advise the commissioner and the directors of the
archives and history section, the historic preservation section and
the museums section concerning the accomplishment of the purposes
of those sections and to establish a state plan with respect
thereto;
(b) To approve and distribute grants-in-aid and awards from
federal and state funds relating to the purposes of the archives
and history section, the historic preservation section and the
museums section;
(c) To request, accept or expend federal funds to accomplish
the purposes of the archives and history section, the historic
preservation section and the museums section when federal law or
regulations would prohibit the same by the commissioner or section
director, but would permit the same to be done by the Archives and
History Commission;
(d) To otherwise encourage and promote the purposes of the
archives and history section, the historic preservation section and
the museums section;
(e) To approve rules and regulations concerning the
professional policies and functions of the archives and history
section, the historic preservation section and the museums section
as promulgated by the directors of those sections;
(f) To advise and consent to the appointment of the section
directors by the commissioner; and
(g) To review and approve nominations to the state and
national registers of historic places; and
(h) To have the oversight and administrative authority over
the
state historian and archivist
.
§29-1-6. Archives and history section; director.
(a) The purposes and duties of the archives and history
section are to locate, survey, investigate, register, identify,
preserve, protect, restore and recommend to the commissioner for
acquisition documents and records having historical, evidential,
administrative and/or and legal value or both relating to the State
of West Virginia and the territory included in the state from the
earliest times to the present, upon its own initiative or in
cooperation with any private or public society, organization or
agency; to conduct a continuing survey and study throughout the
state to develop a state plan to determine the needs and priorities for the preservation of the documents and records; to direct,
protect, preserve, study and disseminate information on the
documents and records; to provide matching grants to political
subdivisions of this state to protect and preserve the documents
and records; to operate and maintain a state library for the
preservation of all public records, state papers, documents and
reports of all three branches of state government including all
boards, commissions, departments and agencies as well as any other
private or public papers, books or documents of peculiar or
historic interest or significance; to designate appropriate
monuments, tablets or markers for historic, architectural and
scenic sites within the state and to arrange for the purchase,
replacement, care of and maintenance of the monuments, tablets and
markers and to formulate and prepare suitable copy for them; to
edit and publish a historical journal devoted to the history,
biography, bibliography and genealogy of West Virginia; and to
perform any other duties assigned to the section by the
commissioner.
(b) With the advice and consent of the Archives and History
Commission, the commissioner shall appoint a director of the
archives and history section, who shall have: (1) A graduate
degree in one of the social sciences, or equivalent training and
experience in the field of West Virginia history, history, or in
records, library or archives management; and (2) three years' experience in administration in the field of West Virginia history,
history, or in records, library or archives management.
Notwithstanding these qualifications, the person serving as the
state historian and archivist on the date of enactment of this
article is eligible for appointment as the director of the archives
and history section. The director of the archives and history
section shall serve as the state historian and archivist and shall
make reports that are requested by the Archives and History
Commission.
(c) With the approval of the commissioner, the director shall
establish professional positions within the section and develop
appropriate organizational structures to carry out the duties of
the section. The director shall employ the personnel with
applicable professional qualifications to fill positions within the
organizational structure with the minimum professional
qualifications. At the minimum, the following professions shall be
represented within the section staff: Historian, archivist,
librarian and technical and clerical positions as are required.
(d) The director shall promulgate rules with the approval of
the Archives and History Commission and in accordance with chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code concerning: (1) The professional
policies and functions of the archives and history section; and (2)
any other rules determined necessary to effectuate the purposes of
this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that the Division
of Culture and History and the commissioner make specific use of
the archives library in the West Virginia Science and Culture
Center; prohibiting the sale of food and drink in that building and
merging the archives library with the lending library; locating the
gift shop in the basement with the museum; and giving the Archives
and History Commission
oversight and administrative authority over
the
state historian and archivist.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.