[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1727 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1727

To authorize funding for the expansion annex of the historic Palace of 
  the Governors, a public history museum located, and relating to the 
 history of Hispanic and Native American culture, in the Southwest and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 14, 1999

 Mr. Domenici introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize funding for the expansion annex of the historic Palace of 
  the Governors, a public history museum located, and relating to the 
 history of Hispanic and Native American culture, in the Southwest and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    (a) Short Title.--This act may be cited as ``Palace of the 
Governors Expansion Act''.

SEC. 2. CONSTRUCTION OF PALACE OF THE GOVERNORS EXPANSION.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The United States has an enriched legacy of Hispanic 
        influence in politics, government, economic development and 
        cultural expression.
            (2) The Palace of the Governors has been the center of 
        administrative and cultural activity over a vast region of the 
        Southwest since its construction as New Mexico's second capitol 
        in Santa Fe by Governor Pedro de Peralta in 1610.
            (3) The Palace of the Governors is the oldest continuously 
        occupied public building in the United States and has been 
        occupied for 390 years.
            (4) Since its creation the Museum of New Mexico has worked 
        to protect and promote Southwest, Hispanic and Native American 
        arts and crafts.
            (5) The Palace of the Governors is the history division of 
        the Museum of New Mexico and was once proposed by Teddy 
        Roosevelt to be part of the Smithsonian Museum and known as the 
        ``Smithsonian West.''
            (6) The Museum has a extensive and priceless collection of:
                    (A) Spanish Colonial and Iberian Colonial paintings 
                including the Sagesser Hyde paintings on buffalo hide 
                dating back to 1706.
                    (B) Pre-Columbian Art.
                    (C) Historic artifacts including:
                            (i) Helmets and armor worn by the Don Juan 
                        Onate expedition conquistadors who established 
                        the first capital in the United States, San 
                        Juan de los Caballeros, in July of 1598.
                            (ii) The Vara Stick used to measure land 
                        grants and other real property boundaries in 
                        Dona Ana County, New Mexico.
                            (iii) The Columbus, New Mexico Railway 
                        Station clock that was shot, stopping the 
                        pendulum, freezing for all history the moment 
                        when Pancho Villa's raid began. It marks the 
                        beginning of the last invasion of the 
                        continental United States.
                            (iv) The field desk of Brigadier General 
                        Stephen Watts Kearny who was posted to New 
                        Mexico during the Mexican War and whose Army of 
                        the West traveled the Santa Fe trail to occupy 
                        the territories of New Mexico and California.
                            (v) More than 800,000 other historic 
                        photographs, guns, costumes, maps, books and 
                        handicrafts.
            (7) The Palace of the Governors and the Sagesser Hyde 
        paintings were designated National Treasures by the National 
        Trust for Historic Preservation.
            (8) The facilities both for exhibiting and storage of this 
        irreplaceable collection are so totally inadequate and 
        dangerously unsuitable that there existence is endangered and 
        their preservation is in jeopardy.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Annex.--The term ``Annex'' means the Palace of the 
        Governors, Museum of New Mexico addition to be located directly 
behind the historic Palace of the Governors building at 110 Lincoln 
Avenue, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Interior.
    (c) Construction of the Annex.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations, the Secretary shall award a grant to New Mexico to pay 
for the Federal share of the costs of the final design, construction, 
furnishing and equipping of the Palace of the Governors Expansion Annex 
that will be located directly behind the historic Palace of the 
Governors at 110 Lincoln Avenue, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
    (d) Grant Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--In order to receive a grant awarded under 
        subsection (c), New Mexico, acting through the Office of 
        Cultural Affairs--
                    (A) shall submit to the Secretary, within 30 days 
                of the date of enactment of this section, a copy of the 
                architectural blueprints for the Palace of the 
                Governors Expansion Annex.
                    (B) shall exercise due diligence to obtain an 
                appropriation from the New Mexico State Legislature for 
                at least $8 million.
                    (C) shall exercise due diligence to expeditiously 
                execute a memorandum of understanding recognizing that 
                time is of the essence for the construction for the 
                Annex because 2010 marks the 400th anniversary of the 
                continuous occupation and use of the Palace of the 
                Governors.
            (2) Memorandum of understanding.--The memorandum of 
        understanding described in paragraph (1) shall provide--
                    (A) the date of completion of the construction of 
                the Annex.
                    (B) that Office of Cultural Affairs shall award the 
                contract for construction of the Annex in accordance 
                with the New Mexico Procurement Code; and
                    (C) that the contract for the construction of the 
                Annex shall be awarded pursuant to a competitive 
                bidding process.
            (3) Federal share.--The Federal share of the costs 
        described in subsection (c) shall be 50 percent.
            (4) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of the costs 
        described in section (c) shall be in cash or in kind fairly 
        evaluated, including land, art and artifact collections, plant, 
        equipment, or services. The non-Federal share shall include any 
        contribution received by New Mexico for the design, land 
        acquisition, library acquisition, library renovation, Palace of 
        the Governors conservation, and construction, furnishing, 
        equipping of the Annex, or donations of art collections to the 
        Museum of New Mexico prior to the date of enactment of this 
        section. The non-Federal share of the costs described in 
        subsection (c) shall include the following:
                    (A) Cost of the land at 110 Lincoln Avenue, Santa 
                Fe, New Mexico.
                    (B) Library acquisition expenditures.
                    (C) Library renovation expenditures.
                    (D) Palace conservation expenditures.
                    (E) New Mexico Foundation and other endowment 
                funds.
                    (F) Donations of art collections or other 
                artifacts.
    (e) Use of Funds for Construction.--Furnishing and Equipment.--
Subject to funds being appropriated, the funds received under a grant 
awarded under subsection (c) shall be used only for the final design, 
construction, management, inspection, furnishing and equipment of the 
Annex.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--Subject to funds being 
appropriated, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
to carry out this section a total of $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 
and succeeding fiscal years. Funds appropriated pursuant to the 
authority of the preceding sentence shall remain available until 
expended but are conditioned upon the New Mexico State legislature 
appropriating at least $8 million between date of enactment and 2010 
and other non-federal sources providing enough funds, when combined 
with the New Mexico State legislature appropriations, to make this 
federal grant based on a fifty-fifty match.
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