Public Laws of 1999 as Passed at 1st Regular Sess. of 119th Legislature

PUBLIC LAWS OF MAINE
First Regular Session of the 119th

PART LL

Sec. LL-1. 27 MRSA §558 is enacted to read:

§558. Maine Communities in the New Century Program

1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.

A. "Council" means the Maine State Cultural Affairs Council.
B. "Participating agencies" means the:

(1) Maine Arts Commission;

(2) Maine Historic Preservation Commission;

(3) Maine State Library;

(4) Maine State Museum;

(5) Maine Historical Society;

(6) Maine State Archives; and

(7) Maine Humanities Council.

C. "Program" means the Maine Communities in the New Century Program established in subsection 2.

2. Program established; objectives. The Maine Communities in the New Century Program is established under the auspices of the council to further the following objectives:

A. Preservation of the State's historic resources, properties, artifacts and documents;
B. Expanded access to improved educational resources; and
C. Community and economic development through strengthened local cultural resources.

3. Program components. To assist communities in preserving, improving and providing access to cultural resources, the program shall provide matching grants, technical assistance and support services to local, nonprofit, community-based organizations.

4. Council duties. The council shall:

A. Oversee the planning and implementation of the program and coordinated communication among the participating agencies on behalf of Maine communities;
B. Establish an outside evaluation system for the project to be implemented in the 2nd year of the program;
C. Provide a forum of interagency planning among the participating agencies;
D. Receive and distribute notices and instructions from other governmental administrative agencies;
E. Meet quarterly to assess the progress of the program;
F. Coordinate the program with a statewide cultural alliance organization that is a private nonprofit educational agency supporting libraries, museums and arts and humanities organizations and with statewide groups of individuals and artists concerned about the health of the State's cultural resources; and
G. Submit an annual report to the Legislature on the program.

5. Participating agency duties. The participating agencies shall:

A. Provide matching grants and services to eligible nonprofit and community-based organizations;
B. Participate in coordinated efforts of the council; and
C. Provide appropriate information for the annual report to the Legislature.

Sec. LL-2. Appropriation. The following funds are appropriated from the General Fund to carry out the purposes of this Part.