Read the full stored bill text
A1086
ASSEMBLY, No. 1086
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROBERT D. CLIFTON
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
���� Authorizes NJ Historical Commission to establish
program to promote developing historic projects on website and collect
donations for projects on behalf of historic site or organization.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning the New Jersey Historical Commission
and historic projects, and amending and supplementing P.L.1999, c.131.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� Section 3 of P.L.1999,
c.131 (C.18A:73-22.3) is amended to read as follows:
���� 3.��� a.� The New Jersey
Historical Commission within the Department of State shall establish:
���� (1)�� A program� for the
purpose of awarding grants from the fund established pursuant to subsection a.
of section 4 of this act for general operating support to public or private
historical libraries, history museums, historical societies, historic sites,
historical agencies of county or local governments, or any related agency or
organization; and
���� (2)�� A program for the
purpose of awarding grants from the fund established pursuant to subsection a.
of section 4 of this act to organizations, entities or individuals in support
of research and publication on New Jersey history.
���� b.��� (1)� The commission
shall develop guidelines and criteria for each program established pursuant to
subsection a. of this section.� The guidelines and criteria shall include, but
not be limited to:� eligibility requirements for applicants; conditions under
which applications will be approved; conditions which may be required to be met
by approved applicants; forms for applications; application contents; an
application acceptance and review process; the manner of awarding of monies to
approved applicants; and oversight or accountability for the expenditure of
monies awarded to approved applicants.� The commission shall establish program
guidelines and criteria and advertise the programs in such a way as to develop
a pool of applicants that reflects the racial, ethnic, and geographical
diversity of the State.
���� (2)�� The commission shall
develop the guidelines and criteria for each program utilizing the definitions
set forth in section 2 of this act and in consultation with: Advocates for New
Jersey History; New Jersey State Archives; Association of New Jersey County
Cultural and Historic Agencies; Division of Parks and Forestry, Department of
Environmental Protection; Genealogical Society of New Jersey; Historic
Preservation Office, Department of Environmental Protection; League of
Historical Societies of New Jersey; Newark Public Library; New Jersey
Association of Museums; New Jersey Caucus, Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives
Conference; New Jersey Council for the Humanities; New Jersey Council for the
Social Studies; New Jersey Historic Trust; New Jersey Historical Society; New
Jersey Library Association; New Jersey State Library; New Jersey State Museum;
New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance; Northern New Jersey Museum Round Table;
Preservation New Jersey; and Special Collections and University Archives,
Rutgers University Libraries.� In addition, the commission shall consult with
at least three historians distinguished by their knowledge of New Jersey
history and their record of publication in the field in developing the
guidelines and criteria for the program established pursuant to paragraph (2)
of subsection a. of this section.
���� c.���� (1)� All applications
received by the commission for grants to be awarded under the programs
established pursuant to this section shall be reviewed and evaluated by a panel
of reviewers selected by the commission. A separate panel of reviewers shall be
selected for each program.� The commission shall identify a pool of potential
panel reviewers for each program and shall select from that pool the panel for
each program to review the applications received for the program. Each panel
shall be composed of persons who are experts in the area for which the program
provides support.� The panel of reviewers for each program shall evaluate each
application received for a grant to be awarded under the program and make
recommendations to the commission.
���� (2)�� The commission shall
make the final decision on each application received, taking into consideration
the recommendations of the panel of reviewers.� The commission, may within its
discretion, offer an approved applicant an award amount less than the amount
requested by the applicant.
���� d.��� (1)� The commission
shall inform the public about the programs established pursuant to subsection
a. of this section in a manner determined by the commission to result in as
wide a dissemination of information as possible within the limits of� monies
available to the commission for this purpose.� The commission may utilize such
methods for the dissemination of information as may be available to State
agencies for the dissemination of information on other such programs.
���� (2)�� At the request of the
applicant, the commission shall provide advice, in any manner the commission
deems appropriate, to interested applicants on the preparation of their
applications.
����
e.���� The New Jersey
Historical Commission shall assist any organization, entity, or individual
seeking support pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection a.� of this section, in
promoting an historic project pursuant to section 3 of P.L.��� , c. (C. )(pending
before the Legislature as this bill).
(cf: P.L.1999, c.131, s.3)
���� 2.��� (New section)� In
addition to the authority set forth pursuant to subsection (d) of
N.J.S.18A:73-25, the New Jersey Historical Commission shall accept and
administer any gift or grant, donated pursuant to section 3 of P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).� Any gift or grant
that is not used in accordance with the purposes set forth in section 3 of
P.L.��� ,
c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be returned to the donor or
refused.� The Department of the Treasury shall provide the means by which
donations may be made to the commission pursuant to this section and section 3
of P.L.��� , c. (C. ���� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill).
���� 3.��� (New section)� a.� The
New Jersey Historical Commission shall establish a program to help historic
sites and organizations by periodically announcing and promoting an historic
project of an historic site or organization on the commission�s Internet website.�
This program shall be a creative platform to enable historic sites and
organizations to gain exposure, generate funding, and leverage donations for
their historic projects, through the commission, while historic sites and
organizations may retain independence and ownership
of the
project. No offer of financial returns or equity, or solicitation of loans,
shall be made in connection with any historic project.
���� b.��� The commission shall
determine the qualifications necessary to be eligible for inclusion in the
program, and evaluate and approve an historic site or organization and its
developing project prior to promotion.
���� c.���� The program website
shall provide for any visitor to the website a means to donate to a specific
historic site or organization, or historic project.� A gift or grant donated
for the purposes of this section shall only be accepted by the commission on
behalf of the historic site or organization.� Any donation to an historic site
or organization shall be used at the discretion of the historic site or
organization accepting it and any donation to a specific historic project shall
be used by the historic site or organization for the designated historic
project.
���� d.��� The commission may
request to monitor or oversee the progress of an historic project, as
appropriate, and may require an historic site or organization to report
progress on occasion.� The commission shall not be responsible for ensuring the
completion of a project.� An historic or organization shall notify the
commission, in writing, upon completion of a project.
���� e.���� The commission may
collaborate, consult, or partner with an organization, including an
Internet-based organization, that supports creative projects by fundraising and
engaging the public at-large, in order to fulfill the mission of the program.�
The commission may also partner with, or contract for, such an organization to
specifically announce or promote an historic site or organization and accept
gifts or grants towards any developing project on behalf of the historic site
or organization in furtherance of the goals of this act.
���� f.���� As used in this
section, an �historic site or organization� means an �historic site,�
�historical society,� �historical library,� �history museum,� or a �related
agency or organization,� as are defined pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1999,
c.131 (C.18A:73-22.2), and an historical agency of local or county government.
���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill would authorize the
New Jersey Historical Commission (�commission�) to establish a program to
support New Jersey historic sites and organizations and collect donations for
projects on their behalf.
���� Specifically, the commission
would establish a program to help historic sites and organizations by
announcing and promoting an historic project on the commission�s website.�
�Historic sites and organizations� include historic sites, historical
societies, historical libraries, history museums, historical agencies of local
or county government, and related not-for-profit agencies and organizations.
���� This program would be a
creative platform to enable historic sites and organizations to gain exposure,
generate funding, and leverage donations for their historic projects, through
the commission, while retaining independence and ownership
of the
project. No offer of financial returns or equity, or solicitation of loans,
would be made in connection with any historic project.
���� The program website would
provide the means for any visitor to the website to donate to a specific
historic site or organization, or specific historic project.� A gift or grant
donated for these purposes would only be accepted by the commission on behalf
of an historic site or organization.� Any donation to an historic site or
organization would be used at the discretion of the historic site or
organization accepting it and any donation to a specific historic project would
be used by the historic site or organization for the designated historic
project.� The commission would be authorized to accept and administer gifts or
grants to be used only in accordance with the purposes set forth in this bill,
or they would be returned to the donor or refused.� The Department of the
Treasury would provide the means by which donations may be made to the
commission.
���� Under the bill, the commission
may request to monitor or oversee the progress of an historic project, as
appropriate, and may require an historic site or organization to report
progress on occasion; however, the commission
would not
be
responsible for ensuring the completion of a project, nor would it
investigate an
historic site or organizations�
ability to complete a project.�
An historic site or organization would
be required to notify the commission, in writing, upon completion of a project.
���� Additionally, this bill would
allow the commission to collaborate, consult, or partner with an organization,
including an Internet-based organization (for example, a crowdsourcing or
advocacy organization such as Kickstarter, Inc.), whose mission is to support
creative projects by fundraising and engaging the public at-large.� The
commission may also partner with or contract for such an organization to
specifically announce or promote New Jersey historic sites or organizations and
accept gifts or grants towards a developing project on behalf of an historic
site or organization in furtherance of the goals of this bill.