Economic Growth – Week of March 24, 2011

STAFF CONTACT:  Sue Foecke

HF 267 – Identification of historic properties by rural electric cooperatives

FLOOR ACTION:

HF 267, as amended on the floor, makes changes to the State Historic Preservation Office and rural electric cooperatives historic surveys. The bill makes the recommendations and the decisions of the State Historic Preservation Officer subject to the review and approval of the Director of the Department of Cultural Affairs. House File 267 establishes specific standards for archeological surveys to identify historic significance done by rural electric cooperatives who receive federal funding. The bill requires a rural electric cooperative to perform a site survey only when a historic property is likely to exist on the property. In addition, the bill states the State Historic Preservation Officer shall not require a level of archeological identification effort which is greater than the reasons and good faith effort required by the Federal Agency. [3/23: 45-1, Quirmbach “no”; Hatch “present”; Bartz, Seymour, Ward “excused”]