1. 1. Appointment The Maine Historic Preservation Commission may appoint a director who must be qualified by special training or experience in the field of historic preservation and who shall also serve as the State Historic Preservation Officer upon appointment by the Governor and is subject to removal for cause under the Civil Service Law. The commission shall fix compensation for the director within salary range 88.

   [PL 1991, c. 528, Pt. E, §33 (AMD); PL 1991, c. 528, Pt. RRR (AFF); PL 1991, c. 591, Pt. E, §33 (AMD).]

2. 2. Duties

   1. A. The Maine Historic Preservation Commission is under the management and supervision of a director who may adopt rules pursuant to the Maine Administrative Procedure Act to implement this section.

      [PL 1991, c. 824, Pt. A, §56 (RPR).]

   2. B. The director may employ, subject to the personnel laws, such assistants as the business of the office may require.

      [PL 1979, c. 21 (NEW).]

   3. C. The director shall, subject to the approval of the commission, accept gifts, devises, bequests and endowments for purposes, consistent with the purposes of this chapter. Any funds given as an endowment shall be invested by the Treasurer of State according to the laws governing investment of trust funds. All gifts, devises, bequests and proceeds of endowment funds shall be used solely to carry out the purposes for which they were made.

      [PL 1979, c. 21 (NEW).]

   4. D. The director may administer a program of state financed grants for the preservation and restoration of historic properties consistent with the following conditions. With respect to the quality of work to be performed through this grant program, the commission and the director must be guided by the United States Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

      1. (1) An applicant for a grant must be either a governmental or a nonprofit organization.
      2. (2) The historic property that is the subject of the grant application must be listed on the National Register of Historic Places as authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 or have been nominated to the register by the commission.
      3. (3) An applicant must provide assurance that public access to the historic property will be reasonably provided with respect to admission fees, visitation hours and physical accessibility, while maintaining the historic integrity of the historic property.
      4. (4) Applications must address, to the satisfaction of the commission, the applicant's organizational and financial capacity to provide long-term maintenance of the historic property that is the subject of the application.
      5. (5) Grants may not exceed 50% of the total expense of the proposed project, except that grants to the State may be 100% of the total expense of the proposed project.
      6. (6) All grants are subject to final approval by the commission.
      7. (7) Prior to final approval, the commission may require the applicant to execute a covenant to secure continued public access to and maintenance of the historic integrity of the historic property.

      With respect to the quality of work to be performed through this grant program, the commission and the director must be guided by the United States Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

      [PL 2023, c. 9, §1 (AMD).]

   [PL 2023, c. 9, §1 (AMD).]

PL 1971, c. 536, §1 (NEW). PL 1975, c. 771, §296 (AMD). PL 1979, c. 21 (RPR). PL 1983, c. 585, §2 (AMD). PL 1985, c. 785, §B125 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 647, §2 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 700, §§B39,40 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 528, §E33 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 528, §RRR (AFF). PL 1991, c. 591, §E33 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 824, §A56 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 9, §1 (AMD).