PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 2854, 3513 PRINTER'S NO. 4420
No. 2035 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY SEIP, BEAR, GOODMAN, BAKER, BASTIAN, BENNINGTON,
COSTA, CURRY, DePASQUALE, HARKINS, HORNAMAN, HUTCHINSON,
KORTZ, MARKOSEK, McCALL, MUSTIO, PASHINSKI, PETRONE, PICKETT,
READSHAW, REICHLEY, K. SMITH, M. SMITH, SAYLOR, MANDERINO,
MARSHALL, SIPTROTH, ROEBUCK, ARGALL, TRUE, HARPER, FLECK,
YOUNGBLOOD, MAHONEY, CONKLIN, FREEMAN, SHIMKUS, J. WHITE
PHILLIPS, R. MILLER, MAJOR, WALKO, ELLIS, HENNESSEY, ROAE AND
CAUSER, NOVEMBER 15, 2007
AS RE-REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, SEPTEMBER 23, 2008
AN ACT
1 Providing for a Heritage Area Program to identify, protect,
2 enhance and promote the historic, recreational, cultural,
3 natural and scenic resources of this Commonwealth and to
4 stimulate community sustainability and economic development
5 through heritage, outdoor recreation and ecotourism; and <--
6 making an appropriation.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Short title.
10 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Commonwealth
11 Heritage Development Act.
12 Section 2. Definitions.
13 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
14 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
15 context clearly indicates otherwise:
16 "Board." The Board of Commonwealth Partners as established
1 in section 5.
2 "Department." The Department of Conservation and Natural
3 Resources of the Commonwealth.
4 "Heritage area." A designated geographic region or corridor
5 of this Commonwealth that contains a multitude of historic,
6 recreational, cultural, natural and scenic resources of State
7 significance that collectively exemplify the heritage of this
8 Commonwealth.
9 "Program." The Heritage Area Program established in section
10 3.
11 Section 3. Heritage Area Program.
12 (a) Establishment.--The Heritage Area Program is established
13 within the department to identify, protect, enhance and promote
14 the historic, recreational, natural, cultural and scenic
15 resources of this Commonwealth and to stimulate community
16 sustainability and economic development through heritage,
17 outdoor recreation and ecotourism.
18 (b) Administration.--The department shall adopt guidelines
19 and policies for the implementation and administration of the
20 program.
21 (c) Funding.--
22 (1) The department shall allocate all funds annually
23 appropriated by the General Assembly in equal amounts to each
24 of the heritage areas designated by this act for the purpose
25 of implementing the management plan and for carrying out
26 heritage development grant and investment programs within the
27 area, including administration and operation.
28 (2) The department is authorized to allocate no more
29 than 5% of the annually appropriated funding for the
30 administration of this act, for programs that promote
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1 heritage development within this Commonwealth and for
2 feasibility studies outside the boundaries of already
3 existing heritage areas.
4 (d) Designation.--The following areas are hereby designated
5 as heritage areas for the purposes of this act:
6 (1) Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area, which includes
7 Allegheny, Blair, Cambria, Huntingdon, Indiana, Juniata,
8 Mifflin, Perry, Somerset and Westmoreland Counties.
9 (2) Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Park Corridor,
10 which includes Bucks, Carbon, Lehigh, Luzerne and Northampton
11 Counties.
12 (3) Endless Mountains Heritage Region, which includes
13 Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties.
14 (4) Lackawanna Heritage Valley, which includes
15 Lackawanna, Luzerne, Susquehanna and Wayne Counties.
16 (5) Lancaster-York Heritage Region, which includes
17 Lancaster and York Counties.
18 (6) Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, which includes
19 Adams, Bedford, Franklin, Fulton, Somerset and Westmoreland
20 Counties.
21 (7) Lumber Heritage Region, which includes Cambria,
22 Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Forest,
23 Indiana, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Tioga and
24 Warren Counties.
25 (8) National Road Heritage Park, which includes Fayette,
26 Somerset and Washington Counties.
27 (9) Oil Heritage Region, which includes Crawford and
28 Venango Counties.
29 (10) Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, which
30 includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Fayette, Green,
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1 Washington and Westmoreland Counties.
2 (11) PA Route 6 Heritage Corridor, which includes
3 Bradford, Crawford, Erie, Lackawanna, McKean, Pike, Potter,
4 Tioga, Warren, Wayne and Wyoming Counties.
5 (12) Schuylkill River National & State Heritage Area,
6 which includes Berks, Chester, Montgomery, Philadelphia and
7 Schuylkill Counties.
8 (e) Additional designations.--Future heritage areas beyond
9 those specified in this act may be established and receive
10 annual appropriations only by act of the General Assembly. Each
11 newly designated heritage area shall develop, in partnership
12 with the department, a management action plan that will address
13 the goals and objectives of the new heritage area. The plan must
14 be approved by the Board of Commonwealth Partners for the
15 heritage area to be officially designated.
16 Section 4. Program goals.
17 A heritage area shall include a plan that incorporates the
18 following primary goals:
19 (1) To strengthen regional and local economies through
20 heritage tourism, community revitalization and other
21 activities that will enhance the quality of life and economic
22 vitality of the area.
23 (2) To establish partnerships and coalitions, including,
24 but not limited to, those among Federal, State and local
25 governments, public officials, businesses, civic leaders,
26 community organizations, planners, educators,
27 preservationists, conservationists and other individuals.
28 (3) To work with communities to protect, document,
29 maintain and interpret the area's tangible and intangible
30 cultural resources, including community-based ethnic,
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1 occupational, religious and other folklife traditions,
2 including lore, skills, customs, practices, stories, and the
3 built and natural environment that supports them, in order to
4 facilitate cultural continuity, promote intercultural
5 awareness and respect, and to encourage public appreciation
6 of the Commonwealth's distinctive and varied cultural legacy.
7 (4) To develop and enhance greenways and conserve open
8 space to link the significant natural, scenic, cultural,
9 recreational and historic sites through rivers, trails,
10 byways and outdoor recreational activities.
11 (5) To communicate and promote the significance of the
12 area's resources and stories through historical
13 interpretation, events and programs for the benefit of
14 students, educators, visitors and the general public.
15 Section 5. Board of Commonwealth Partners.
16 (a) Establishment.--The Board of Commonwealth Partners is
17 established in the department.
18 (b) Membership.--The secretary or chief executive official
19 of the following agencies and organizations or their designee
20 shall be a member of the board:
21 (1) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
22 (2) Department of Agriculture.
23 (3) Department of Community and Economic Development.
24 (4) Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
25 (5) Department of Education.
26 (6) Department of Environmental Protection.
27 (7) Department of Transportation.
28 (8) Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
29 (9) Pennsylvania Humanities Council.
30 (10) The Pennsylvania Heritage Areas Association.
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1 (c) Powers and duties.--The board shall have the following
2 powers and duties:
3 (1) To review applications for new heritage areas and
4 provide recommendations to the General Assembly.
5 (2) To provide expertise on programs and issues related
6 to their agency or organization.
7 (3) To assist in obtaining additional funds through
8 grants and loans available from the Federal Government, other
9 State agencies and other sources.
10 (4) To provide technical assistance to heritage areas.
11 (5) To promote heritage development and heritage areas
12 within their respective agencies and throughout this
13 Commonwealth.
14 (d) Meetings.--The board shall meet at least once every
15 three months or more often as necessary to fulfill its duties
16 and shall meet periodically with heritage areas to carry out the
17 administration of this act.
18 (e) Personnel and resources.--The department shall provide
19 the necessary personnel and resources to the board to fulfill
20 its duties under this act.
21 Section 6. Appropriation. <--
22 The sum of $5,300,000 is hereby appropriated to the
23 Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for the fiscal
24 year July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009, for the purpose of
25 providing funding to heritage areas designated in section 3(d)
26 and for the administrative costs associated with that funding.
27 Section 7 6. Effective date. <--
28 This act shall take effect immediately.
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