18A:73-22.1. Findings, declarations relative to support of activities in New Jersey history

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. The Task Force on New Jersey History was established pursuant to P.L.1994, c.146 to study the ways history services are delivered to the people of this State and to make recommendations for improvements in the delivery of such services;

b. The Task Force conducted a detailed and comprehensive study and submitted its report to the Legislature and the Governor in June of 1997;

c. The report includes 36 recommendations for ways to strengthen the structure and function of agencies and organizations that provide New Jersey history services to the public;

d. In combination with other recent studies of aspects of New Jersey history and the cultural life of New Jersey, the Task Force's report provides indisputable proof that New Jersey's program of history services has suffered for many years from severe underfunding, especially in comparison with funding provided to other cultural interests in the State and to history services in other states; and

e. This underfunding has resulted in deteriorating historic sites and collections of historical artifacts and materials; inadequate education of collections management personnel in the techniques of collection preservation; inadequate training of volunteers who staff historic sites; insufficient research and publication on New Jersey history; inadequate maintenance and interpretation of State-owned and other historic sites; and low levels of innovation in and support of the tourism industry on New Jersey's heritage.

The Legislature therefore deems it necessary that the residents of a democratic and increasingly diverse society such as the State of New Jersey be provided with greater access to the materials of their history in order to understand how our society developed and to safeguard its continued free and open evolution; and that increased funding for history services is needed so that the agencies and organizations that provide these services can provide them more adequately to the people of New Jersey and their historical institutions.

L.1999,c.131,s.1.