BILL NUMBER: S8491A
SPONSOR: BRESLIN
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to estab-
lishing the New York state museum partnership trust
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To align the governing structure of the New York State Museum with that
of other departments under the office of cultural education at the state
education department, by establishing a museum partnership trust to
supplement the funding of the State Museum and provide advisory guidance
on programs and exhibits.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 sets forth legislative findings and intent.
Section 2 establishes the short title for this act as'the "New York
State Museum partnership trust act."
Section 3 defined relevant terms.
Section 4 amends the arts and cultural affairs law by establishing a new
Title R which establishes the museum partnership trust. Article 45.01
establishes the membership and appointment process for the trust. Arti-
cle 45.03 establishes the purposes and powers of the trust. Article
45.05 provides for the temporary assignment and transfer of employees.
Article 45.07 defines authorized expenditures. Article 45.09 estab-
lished the New York State Museum partnership trust fund, which shall
have three separate and distinct accounts: the endowment account, the
special projects account, and the operation and maintenance account.
Article 45.11 establishes the public purpose of the trust, and article
45.13 establishes that no member or employee shall profit from the oper-
ation of the trust.
Section 5 is the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The New York State Museum is a vital resource for preserving the natural
history, culture, and arts of the state of New York. The State Museum,
established in 1836, is the oldest and largest state museum in the coun-
try. The Museum's collections feature more than 16 million scientific
specimens and one million cultural objects. The Museum also offers
educational programming, including after-school programs that have bene-
fited more than 4,000 students in the City of Albany.
Unfortunately, present conditions inhibit its ability to thrive and
serve New Yorkers to its fullest potential. To revitalize the New York
State Museum, we need to align its governance structure with that of
other departments under the office of cultural education at the New York
State education department. Both the New York State Library and the New
York State Archives benefit from the support of an affiliated trust that
obtains non-state funding to supplement the operations and programming
of the Library and Archives, respectively. In 1992, the New York State
legislature established an archives partnership trust to provide over-
sight and supplemental funding to the New York State Archives. This
legislation creates a parallel body, the museum partnership trust, to
support and oversee the New York State Museum.
The museum partnership trust will create an endowment to help collect
and preserve art, historical items, objects of material culture, natural
history specimens, and other objects that tell the story of the people
who call New York home. The trust will work in conjunction with the
Board of Regents, the office of cultural education at the state educa-
tion department, the commissioner of education, and the museum advisory
council under the Board of Regents to advise and support the New York
State Museum.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and the appointments to the New
York State museum partnership trust shall be made no later than three
months, following an appropriation made by the legislature for the
purposes of this act.