PRINTER'S NO. 2854
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 AND FREEMAN, NOVEMBER 15, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM AND RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT,
NOVEMBER 15, 2007
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.
1 "Department." The Department of Conservation and Natural
2 Resources of the Commonwealth.
3 "Heritage area." A designated geographic region or corridor
4 of this Commonwealth that contains a multitude of historic,
5 recreational, cultural, natural and scenic resources of State
6 significance that collectively exemplify the heritage of this
7 Commonwealth.
8 "Program." The Heritage Area Program established in section
9 3.
10 Section 3. Heritage Area Program.
11 (a) Establishment.--The Heritage Area Program is established
12 within the department to identify, protect, enhance and promote
13 the historic, recreational, natural, cultural and scenic
14 resources of this Commonwealth and to stimulate community
15 sustainability and economic development through heritage,
16 outdoor recreation and ecotourism.
17 (b) Administration.--The department shall adopt regulations
18 and policies for the implementation and administration of the
19 program.
20 (c) Funding.--
21 (1) The department shall allocate all funds authorized
22 by this act and appropriated by the General Assembly for the
23 program.
24 (2) The General Assembly shall appropriate to each
25 designated heritage area a sufficient amount annually for
26 implementing the management plan and for carrying out
27 heritage development grant and investment programs within the
28 area, including administration and operations.
29 (3) The General Assembly shall appropriate to the
30 department a sufficient amount annually for the
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1 administration of this act and programs that promote heritage
2 development within this Commonwealth.
3 (4) The department may fund local feasibility studies
4 and management plans outside the boundaries of already
5 existing heritage areas.
6 (d) Designation.--The following areas are hereby designated
7 as heritage areas for the purposes of this act:
8 (1) Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area, which includes Blair,
9 Cambria, Huntingdon and Somerset Counties.
10 (2) Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Park Corridor,
11 which includes Bucks, Carbon, Lehigh, Luzerne and Northampton
12 Counties.
13 (3) Endless Mountains Heritage Region, which includes
14 Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties.
15 (4) Lackawanna Heritage Valley, which includes
16 Lackawanna, Luzerne, Susquehanna and Wayne Counties.
17 (5) Lancaster-York Heritage Region, which includes
18 Lancaster and York Counties.
19 (6) Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, which includes
20 Adams, Bedford, Franklin, Fulton, Somerset and Westmoreland
21 Counties.
22 (7) Lumber Heritage Region, which includes Cambria,
23 Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Forest,
24 Indiana, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Tioga and
25 Warren Counties.
26 (8) National Road Heritage Park, which includes Fayette,
27 Somerset and Washington Counties.
28 (9) Oil Heritage Region, which includes Crawford and
29 Venango Counties.
30 (10) Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, which
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1 includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Fayette, Green,
2 Washington and Westmoreland Counties.
3 (11) PA Route 6 Heritage Corridor, which includes
4 Bradford, Crawford, Erie, Lackawanna, McKean, Pike, Potter,
5 Tioga, Warren and Wyoming Counties.
6 (12) Schuylkill River National & State Heritage Area,
7 which includes Berks, Chester, Montgomery, Philadelphia and
8 Schuylkill Counties.
9 (e) Additional designations.--Future heritage areas beyond
10 those specified in this act may be established only by act of
11 the General Assembly. Each newly designated heritage area shall
12 develop, in partnership with the department, a management action
13 plan that will address the goals and objectives of the new
14 heritage area. The plan must be approved by the Board of
15 Commonwealth Partners for the heritage area to be officially
16 designated.
17 Section 4. Program goals.
18 A heritage area shall include a plan that incorporates the
19 following primary goals:
20 (1) To strengthen regional and local economies through
21 heritage tourism, community revitalization and other
22 activities that will enhance the quality of life and economic
23 vitality of the area.
24 (2) To establish partnerships and coalitions, including,
25 but not limited to, those among Federal, State and local
26 governments, public officials, businesses, civic leaders,
27 community organizations, planners, educators,
28 preservationists, conservationists and other individuals.
29 (3) To work with communities to protect, document,
30 maintain and interpret the area's tangible and intangible
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1 cultural resources, including community-based ethnic,
2 occupational, religious and other folklife traditions,
3 including lore, skills, customs, practices, stories, and the
4 built and natural environment that supports them, in order to
5 facilitate cultural continuity, promote intercultural
6 awareness and respect, and to encourage public appreciation
7 of the Commonwealth's distinctive and varied cultural legacy.
8 (4) To develop and enhance greenways and conserve open
9 space to link the significant natural, scenic, cultural,
10 recreational and historic sites through rivers, trails,
11 byways and outdoor recreational activities.
12 (5) To communicate and promote the significance of the
13 area's resources and stories through historical
14 interpretation, events and programs for the benefit of
15 students, educators, visitors and the general public.
16 Section 5. Board of Commonwealth Partners.
17 (a) Establishment.--The Board of Commonwealth Partners is
18 established in the department.
19 (b) Membership.--The secretary or chief executive official
20 of the following agencies and organizations or their designee
21 shall be a member of the board:
22 (1) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
23 (2) Department of Agriculture.
24 (3) Department of Community and Economic Development.
25 (4) Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
26 (5) Department of Education.
27 (6) Department of Environmental Protection.
28 (7) Department of Transportation.
29 (8) Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
30 (9) Pennsylvania Humanities Council.
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1 (10) The Pennsylvania Heritage Areas Association.
2 (c) Powers and duties.--The board shall have the following
3 powers and duties.--
4 (1) To review applications for new heritage areas and
5 provide recommendations to the General Assembly.
6 (2) To provide expertise on programs and issues related
7 to their agency or organization.
8 (3) To assist in obtaining additional funds through
9 grants and loans available from the Federal Government, other
10 State agencies and other sources.
11 (4) To provide technical assistance to heritage areas.
12 (5) To promote heritage development and heritage areas
13 within their respective agencies and throughout this
14 Commonwealth.
15 (d) Meetings.--The board shall meet at least once every
16 three months or more often as necessary to fulfill its duties
17 and shall meet periodically with heritage areas to carry out the
18 administration of this act.
19 (e) Personnel and resources.--The department shall provide
20 the necessary personnel and resources to the board to fulfill
21 its duties under this act.
22 Section 6. Appropriation.
23 The sum of $5,000,000 is hereby appropriated to the
24 Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for the purpose
25 of providing funding to heritage areas and for the
26 administrative costs associated with that funding.
27 Section 7. Effective date.
28 This act shall take effect immediately.
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