ADVOCACY

PENNSYLVANIA

The PA House and Senate will be in session on June 5 with a full June calendar of session days to hammer out the Commonwealth's 2023-24 budget.. The House Democrats' budget bill advanced, and it is headed to the House Appropriations Committee before final consideration. The bill mirrors what Governor Shapiro proposed in his Executive Budget.

Budget negotiations last week showed some of the difficulties lawmakers are having developing the spending plan. WESA (radio) hosted reporters from the capitol newsroom last week, and you can listen to their discussion of the issues around the budget here. Meanwhile, Governor Shapiro has been active as he tries to gain support for his plan in editorials, at media stops and at events. This administration's first budget process ought to indicate what we may see the next couple of years as well.

PA Museums is watching for other bills that may effect the way museums do business. There is currently a House bill and a Senate memo circulating called Michael's Law that is meant to improve access for people with disabilities. We welcome feedback from our membership about it; PA Museums is sometimes invited to offer opinions on bills like this from policy leaders. PA Museums is also on the lookout for SB228, a bill about how museums and history organizations can deal with unclaimed or abandoned property and loans, to be on the calendar for consideration in the State Government Committee.

FEDERAL LEVEL

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) is urging our community to support its work around the 250th anniversary of our nation by asking lawmakers in Washington, D.C. to join the America250 Caucus. Please support this effort.

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has sent out a Save the Dates notice for its annual AAM Invite Congress to Your Museum effort. Please click here to learn more.

SUPPORT FOR YOUR MUSEUM

HISTORICAL & ARCHIVAL RECORDS CARE (HARC) GRANTS FROM THE PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM COMMISSION (PHMC)

The PHMC began accepting applications for the Historical & Archival Records Care (HARC) grant program on May 1. The application deadline is August 1, 2023.

Funding is available to historical records repositories such as: historical societies; libraries; universities; local governments; and school districts for collections care, including surveying; inventorying; preserving; arranging; and describing historical records significant to Pennsylvania, as well as for records reformatting and equipment.

Visit the HARC webpage for more details. 

AMERICA250PA INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS AND PROJECTS

Check out this opportunity from America250PA for Infrastructure Improvements and Projects.

PA MUSEUMS IN THE NEWS

Al Dia shared the news that Eastern State Penitentiary announced that Dr. Kerry Sautner will take over as CEO in July.

The National Park Service named its awardees for its African American Civil Rights History grants program, and the Friends of Washington Crossing Park is among the organizations to receive funding.

The Sentinel (Lewistown) explored the Pennsylvania Military Museum for Memorial Day with Site Administrator Tyler Gum.

GoErie featured the soon-to-reopen ExpERIEnce Children's Museum.

ABC27 covered Yelp's new list of the best museums in Pennsylvania.

WFMZ had a sneak peak at the Reading Public Museum's Robot Zoo exhibit.

WTAJ had the scoop on the 50th Anniversary of the Johnstown Flood Museum. Today's the anniversary of the 1889 Johnstown Flood.

TribLive talked with the new curator at the Andy Warhol Museum.



MEMBERSHIP

Fort Hunter is looking for a Park Manager. If your organization has a job to post with PA Museums, please review our guidelines and contact us. You can also complete and submit your job posting on our easy-to-use form.

The PA Museums Awards Committee is always hoping to improve our awards program. We invite you to complete a survey about our awards program. It should take about five minutes to complete, and we appreciate your feedback as we approach planning for 2024's Special Achievement Awards.

Are you interested in learning more about Museums for All, an initiative dedicated to expanding community access? Join staff from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Association of Children’s Museums on June 15 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time to learn more about how and why over 1,100 museums participate in the program. Find more information and register to attend the informational webinar on the IMLS website.

PA Museums urges our members and constituency to join in the survey currently open through PA Humanities, one of our association's strong partners in statewide advocacy for museums, history organizations, and arts and culture. The survey is anonymous, takes approximately 15 minutes to complete, and is open until June 9, 2023. Take the survey now at PAHumanities.org/CultureCheck.



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Breaking the glass ceiling, our new national archivist is a Pennsylvania native as well.

Since this newsletter usually hits your inbox around lunchtime, here's a video from Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area, Cultivating Identity: How Heritage Foods Connect Past, Present & Future.

The Quarterly Fundraising Report™ from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project is now available for the fourth quarter of 2022.