PRINTER'S NO. 2326
No. 1538 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY ORIE, ERICKSON, RAFFERTY, O'PAKE, LOGAN, PILEGGI,
BROWNE, WONDERLING, FONTANA, BOSCOLA, MUSTO, PUNT, COSTA,
MADIGAN, C. WILLIAMS, MELLOW AND D. WHITE, AUGUST 18, 2008
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, AUGUST 18, 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
17 in section 5.
18 "Department." The Department of Conservation and Natural
19 Resources of the Commonwealth.
1 "Heritage area." A designated geographic region or corridor
2 of this Commonwealth that contains a multitude of historic,
3 recreational, cultural, natural and scenic resources of State
4 significance that collectively exemplify the heritage of this
5 Commonwealth.
6 "Program." The Heritage Area Program established in section
7 3.
8 Section 3. Heritage Area Program.
9 (a) Establishment.--The Heritage Area Program is established
10 within the department to identify, protect, enhance and promote
11 the historic, recreational, natural, cultural and scenic
12 resources of this Commonwealth and to stimulate community
13 sustainability and economic development through heritage,
14 outdoor recreation and ecotourism.
15 (b) Administration.--The department shall adopt guidelines
16 and policies for the implementation and administration of the
17 program.
18 (c) Funding.--
19 (1) The department shall allocate all funds annually
20 appropriated by the General Assembly in equal amounts to each
21 of the heritage areas designated by this act for the purpose
22 of implementing the management plan and for carrying out
23 heritage development grant and investment programs within the
24 area, including administration and operation.
25 (2) The department is authorized to allocate no more
26 than 5% of the annually appropriated funding for the
27 administration of this act, for programs that promote
28 heritage development within this Commonwealth and for
29 feasibility studies outside the boundaries of already
30 existing heritage areas.
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1 (d) Designation.--The following areas are hereby designated
2 as heritage areas for the purposes of this act:
3 (1) Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area, which includes
4 Allegheny, Armstrong, Blair, Cambria, Huntingdon and Indiana,
5 Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, Somerset and Westmoreland Counties.
6 (2) Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor,
7 which includes Bucks, Carbon, Lehigh, Luzerne and Northampton
8 Counties.
9 (3) Endless Mountains Heritage Region, which includes
10 Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties.
11 (4) Lackawanna Heritage Valley, which includes
12 Lackawanna, Luzerne, Susquehanna and Wayne Counties.
13 (5) Lancaster-York Heritage Region, which includes
14 Lancaster and York Counties.
15 (6) Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, which includes
16 Adams, Bedford, Franklin, Fulton, Somerset and Westmoreland
17 Counties.
18 (7) Lumber Heritage Region, which includes Cambria,
19 Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Forest,
20 Indiana, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Tioga and
21 Warren Counties.
22 (8) National Road Heritage Corridor, which includes
23 Fayette, Somerset and Washington Counties.
24 (9) Oil Heritage Region, which includes Crawford and
25 Venango Counties.
26 (10) Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, which
27 includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette,
28 Green, Washington and Westmoreland Counties.
29 (11) PA Route 6 Heritage Corridor, which includes
30 Bradford, Crawford, Erie, Lackawanna, McKean, Pike, Potter,
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1 Tioga, Warren, Wayne and Wyoming Counties.
2 (12) Schuylkill River National & State Heritage Area,
3 which includes Berks, Chester, Montgomery, Philadelphia and
4 Schuylkill Counties.
5 (e) Additional designations.--Future heritage areas beyond
6 those specified in this act may be established and receive
7 annual appropriations only by act of the General Assembly. Each
8 newly designated heritage area shall develop, in partnership
9 with the department, a management action plan that will address
10 the goals and objectives of the new heritage area. The plan must
11 be approved by the Board of Commonwealth Partners for the
12 heritage area to be officially designated.
13 Section 4. Program goals.
14 A heritage area shall include a plan that incorporates the
15 following primary goals:
16 (1) To strengthen regional and local economies through
17 heritage tourism, community revitalization and other
18 activities that will enhance the quality of life and economic
19 vitality of the area.
20 (2) To establish partnerships and coalitions, including,
21 but not limited to, those among Federal, State and local
22 governments, public officials, businesses, civic leaders,
23 community organizations, planners, educators,
24 preservationists, conservationists and other individuals.
25 (3) To work with communities to protect, document,
26 maintain and interpret the area's tangible and intangible
27 cultural resources, including community-based ethnic,
28 occupational, religious and other folklife traditions,
29 including lore, skills, customs, practices, stories, and the
30 built and natural environment that supports them, in order to
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1 facilitate cultural continuity, promote intercultural
2 awareness and respect, and to encourage public appreciation
3 of the Commonwealth's distinctive and varied cultural legacy.
4 (4) To develop and enhance greenways and conserve open
5 space to link the significant natural, scenic, cultural,
6 recreational and historic sites through rivers, trails,
7 byways and outdoor recreational activities.
8 (5) To communicate and promote the significance of the
9 area's resources and stories through historical
10 interpretation, events and programs for the benefit of
11 students, educators, visitors and the general public.
12 Section 5. Board of Commonwealth Partners.
13 (a) Establishment.--The Board of Commonwealth Partners is
14 established in the department.
15 (b) Membership.--The secretary or chief executive official
16 of the following agencies and organizations or their designee
17 shall be a member of the board:
18 (1) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
19 (2) Department of Agriculture.
20 (3) Department of Community and Economic Development.
21 (4) Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
22 (5) Department of Education.
23 (6) Department of Environmental Protection.
24 (7) Department of Transportation.
25 (8) Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
26 (9) Pennsylvania Humanities Council.
27 (10) The Pennsylvania Heritage Areas Association.
28 (c) Powers and duties.--The board shall have the following
29 powers and duties:
30 (1) To review applications for new heritage areas and
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1 provide recommendations to the General Assembly.
2 (2) To provide expertise on programs and issues related
3 to their agency or organization.
4 (3) To assist in obtaining additional funds through
5 grants and loans available from the Federal Government, other
6 State agencies and other sources.
7 (4) To provide technical assistance to heritage areas.
8 (5) To promote heritage development and heritage areas
9 within their respective agencies and throughout this
10 Commonwealth.
11 (d) Meetings.--The board shall meet at least once every
12 three months or more often as necessary to fulfill its duties
13 and shall meet periodically with heritage areas to carry out the
14 administration of this act.
15 (e) Personnel and resources.--The department shall provide
16 the necessary personnel and resources to the board to fulfill
17 its duties under this act.
18 Section 6. Appropriation.
19 The sum of $5,300,000 is hereby appropriated to the
20 Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for the fiscal
21 year July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009, for the purpose of
22 providing funding to heritage areas designated in section 3(d)
23 and for the administrative costs associated with that funding.
24 Section 7. Effective date.
25 This act shall take effect immediately.
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