CHAPTER 656
HOUSE BILL NO. 1190
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 87, TITLE 29, DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE CREATION OF A DELAWARE AGRICULTURE MUSEUM BOARD; AND FURTHER EMPOWERING THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE TO LEASE 10 ACRES OF LAND FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF DELAWARE STATE COLLEGE FOR THE SITE OF THE AGRICULTURE MUSEUM; AND FURTHER PROVIDING FUNDS FOR THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE DELAWARE AGRICULTURE MUSEUM BY APPROPRIATING AND TRANSFERRING FUNDS FROM THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT FUND.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:
Section 1. Amend Chapter 87, Title 29, Delaware Code by adding thereto the following new sections which shall read as follows:
"§8720. Delaware Agriculture Museum Board.
The Delaware Agriculture Museum Board is established which shall consist of nineteen (19) members to be appointed in the following manner:
(a) Six (6) members appointed by the Governor, two (2) of whom shall come from New Castle County, and two (2) from Kent County, and two (2) from Sussex County. Two members shall be appointed for a term of one (1) year, two (2) members shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years and two (2) members shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years. Thereafter members shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years.
(b) Seven (7) members of the Executive Committee of the Delaware Agriculture Museum Association, Inc., during their terms of office;
(c) the Master of the Delaware State Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, during the term of his office;
(d) the President of the Delaware Farm Bureau, during his term of office;
() the Secretary of Agriculture, or his designee;
(a) the Secretary of State, or his designee;
(g)two (2) members appointed by the Board of Trustees of Delaware State College, one (1) of which shall be the Chairman of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
§8721. Powers of the Board.
(a) The Board shall build and operate a Museum of Delaware Agriculture.
(b) Management of the Delaware Agriculture Museum shall be the responsibility of the Director of the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs. All business of the Museum shall be conducted through the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs.
() The Delaware Agriculture Museum Board may accept gifts; may engage in trade; and may sell or exchange objects in its possession. Money realized from any source other than admissions shall be kept in a special fund to be controlled by the Board for the advancement of the Museum's programs. The Board may permit sales on museum property, provided that a commission from such sales shall be paid to the Board.
(d) The Delaware Agriculture Museum Board shall establish a reasonable scale of admission fees for the Delaware Agriculture Museum. All admission fees collected shall be returned to the General Fund of the State of Delaware.
() All income realized from admission fees and other sources will be reported in the annual report of the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs. This accounting shall describe expenditures from all trust funds and monies appropriated from the General Fund.
() The Board may adopt rules and regulations necessary for the proper performance of its duties and the regulations of proceedings before it, provided such rules and regulations are consistent with the provisions of this Act and the laws of this State.
() The Board shall approve all budget requests, and shall establish guidelines for expenditures of any General Fund appropriations to the Museum that might be authorized by the General Assembly.
(a) The Board shall adopt and have an official seal."
Section 2. The Department of State is hereby authorized and empowered to enter into a ninety-nine (99) year lease agreement for a site location for the Delaware Agriculture Museum with the Board of Trustees of Delaware State College. The Delaware Agriculture Museum shall be located on a ten (10) acre site more or less on the campus of Delaware State College.
Section 3. The Delaware Agriculture Museum Board, through the Department of State, or its successor, shall, upon the expiration of the lease agreement authorized herein, have the option to renew the lease for the same period of time and under the same conditions of rental.
Section 4. In the event the land leased in accordance with the provisions of this Act permanently ceases to be used as an Agricultural Museum than all lands leased under the provisions of this Act, including improvements thereon, shall revert to the Board of Trustees of Delaware State College.
Section 5. The sum of $1,200,000 is hereby appropriated and transferred, when first available, from the Capital Investment Fund, established by Chapter 62, Title 29, Delaware Code, to the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs (20-06-000) to be used exclusively to accomplish the design and development of a Delaware Agriculture Museum.