Chapter 04. Historical and Cultural Museum Assistance Program

“Act” means State Finance and Procurement Article, §§5A-349—5A-359, Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended.

“Archival material” means documentary material, either public or private, in any form including paper, microform, computerized record, film, or other comparable medium.

“Board of Trustees” or “Trustees” means the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Historical Trust.

“Code” means the Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended.

“County” means any of the 23 counties of the State and the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore.

“Department” means the Department of Planning.

“Director” means the Director of the Maryland Historical Trust.

“Eligible activity” or “eligible activities” means one or more of the activities set forth in Regulation .05 of this chapter.

“Fiscal year” means the fiscal year of the State.

“Grant” means an award of financial assistance under the Program from the MHT Grant Fund.

“Grant documents” means the grant agreement and other documents between the grantee and the Trust which evidence the terms and conditions of the grant.

“Grantee” means the recipient of a grant.

“Local jurisdiction” means any county or municipality, and a duly authorized agency or instrumentality of the county or municipality.

“MHT Grant Fund” or “Fund” means the Historic Preservation and Historical and Cultural Museum Assistance Grant Fund of the Trust created under State Finance and Procurement Article, §5A-328, Annotated Code of Maryland.

“Minor structural modifications” means alterations or modifications to existing buildings, structures, or other physical facilities that are consistent with the purposes of the Act.

“Municipality” means a municipal corporation in Maryland subject to the provisions of Article XI-E of the Maryland Constitution.

Museum.

“Museum operated by the State” means a museum whose:

“Nonprofit organization” means a corporation, foundation, or other legal entity, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual holding an interest in that entity.

“Operating support” means necessary administrative, technical, and professional services and related expenses.

“Program” means the Historical and Cultural Museum Assistance Program of the Trust established by the Act.

“Review panel” means the Museum Assistance Review Panel appointed by the Secretary under the Act and these regulations.

“Routine administrative overhead expenses” means all operating costs except those incurred directly for an eligible activity.

“Secretary” means the Secretary of Planning.

“Trust” means the Maryland Historical Trust, an instrumentality of the State as part of the Department.

Assisting museums to become eligible for grants;

Developing long-range plans;

Becoming accredited by the American Association of Museums or other pertinent entity that provides museum accreditation; and

Meeting professional museum standards.

A nonprofit organization only if the:

A local jurisdiction, only if the museum which is to be the beneficiary of a grant has been in existence as an agency or instrumentality of a local jurisdiction or as a nonprofit institution for at least 3 years before the date of application.

Is operated by the State;

Is operated, in whole or in part, by a department or agency of the federal government.

Research related to collections, exhibits, or other educational activities;

Care, conservation, documentation, and interpretation of collections;

Planning, design, and construction of exhibits and displays;

Design and implementation of educational programs and activities;

Development of master plans for the museum, including activities required to achieve accreditation by the American Association of Museums or other pertinent entity that provides museum accreditation;

Construction of minor structural modifications;

Development of plans and specifications and provision of architectural, engineering, or other special services directly related to the construction or rehabilitation of museum facilities; or

Operating support for any museum-related activity including activities described in §B(1)—(7) of this regulation.

Construction other than minor structural modifications as set forth in §B(6), of this regulation; or

Costs that have been incurred before the date of the Trust's notice of grant approval.

At least once during each fiscal year the Trust shall solicit applications for the award of grants under the Program.

At least 90 days before an expected award of grants to grantees, the Trust shall:

Applications shall be made upon standard forms prescribed by the Trust.

Each application shall be accompanied by sufficient information and documentation to determine the:

Each applicant shall certify that it is familiar with and willing to comply with the grant terms and conditions set forth in Regulation .09 of this chapter.

Except for operating support grants, relative merits of the eligible activity within Statewide needs identified annually by the Trust in consultation with the review panel;

Except for operating support grants, extent to which there will be any contribution to the eligible activity by the appropriate local jurisdiction;

Potential for the eligible activity to stimulate increased tourism, museum attendance, museum quality, or museum self-sufficiency or promote collections care or educational activities; and

Extent to which the eligible activity will contribute to the cumulative equitable Statewide geographic distribution of funds based on the Statewide distribution of eligible applicants.

In any fiscal year, the Secretary may allocate up to 20 percent of the total moneys available in the MHT Grant Fund to be held in reserve for grants to unanticipated eligible activities that have arisen generally because of one or more of the following circumstances:

Except for §A of this regulation, the provisions of this chapter apply to unanticipated activity grants.

The review panel shall consist initially of nine members.

The Secretary may appoint additional members as the responsibilities of the review panel may require.

The review panel shall include the following members:

Review panel members shall serve without compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for expenses as permitted by law.

Review grant applications;

Make recommendations in accordance with Regulation .08 of this chapter, for review and approval by the Board of Trustees and recommendation to the Secretary for final approval or disapproval by the Secretary;

Consider any advice or recommendations of the State Archivist received on all grant applications that in whole or in part relate to the care of, preservation of, or access to, archival material; and

Advise the Trust and the Secretary regarding Program policies, activities, and expenditures.

Cancel the grant and withhold any funds not yet disbursed if the grantee has not expended all grant funds within the period set forth in §B of this regulation, and the grant documents may prescribe a shorter period of time if the circumstances of the eligible activity warrant it; or

Extend the time limit if the grantee demonstrates that the circumstances warrant extension, such as an inability to satisfy the time limit because of circumstances beyond the grantee's control.

Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended;

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended;

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended;

Article 49B, Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended;

The Governor's Code of Fair Practices, as amended;

The Maryland Accessibility Code, COMAR 05.02.02, as amended; and

Executive Order 01.01.1989.18 relating to drug-free and alcohol-free workplaces, and any Departmental regulations adopted or to be adopted to carry out the requirements of that Order.

Grantees, contractors, and subcontractors shall maintain those books, accounts, and records, using normally accepted accounting procedures, and shall file with the Trust those financial and other reports as the Trust may from time to time require. All of these books, accounts, and records shall be open to inspection by representatives of the Department or other agencies of the State during reasonable working hours before, during, or after the period of time during which grant proceeds are expended. Grantees shall make their administrative offices and personnel, whether full-time, part-time, consultants, or volunteers, available to the Department upon request.

Books, accounts, and records of contractors and subcontractors shall be maintained and made available for inspection for up to 3 years after either the date of grantee's final expenditure of grant proceeds or the termination of the contractual relationship between the contractor and the grantee, whichever is later.

Rights of the public; or

Procedures available to the public.

The waiver or variance is not inconsistent with the authorizing provisions of the Act; and

In the written determination of the Secretary, the application of the regulations in a specific case or in an emergency situation would be inequitable or contrary to the purposes of the Act.

Guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or both; and

Subject to immediate cancellation and reimbursement of the grant.