Program: Historical administration and services
|
Appropriation: |
All from GF/GP: |
$4,940,800 |
|
|
Total: |
$4,940,800[26] |
Program Description:
This appropriation funds
administration and services for Michigan’s historical programs. The Michigan
Historical Center’s web site explains that the center “preserves
and interprets Michigan’s past and helps people discover, enjoy and find
inspiration in their heritage.”[27] The center’s nearly 80 employees oversee and
administer five main components of the state’s historical program, including the
Michigan Historical Museum System, State Archives of Michigan, State
Historic Preservation Office, Office of the State Archaeologist, and Michigan
History magazine. The center is also responsible for overseeing implementation
of the federal National Register of Historic Places program in Michigan and
shares with the federal government the duty of managing the Thunder Bay National
Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve in Lake Huron.
The Michigan Historical
Commission, created in 1913,[28]
serves as the advisory board to the center. It consists of six members
appointed by the governor to terms of six years. The commission, in conjunction
with the Department of History, Arts, and Libraries, administers the State
Register of Historic Sites and several other historical programs.
Recommended Action:
The Legislature should downsize, outsource or
eliminate the following agencies and programs:
Ten historic museums and sites
throughout the state focus on themes in Michigan history including native
peoples, early French explorers, miners, loggers, settlers, a Victorian family,
and the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps.[29] Each of these museums and sites may be worthy and important;
however, it does not follow that the state should assume all the costs
associated with owning and operating them. Museums funded entirely through
private philanthropy and attendance fees exist throughout the country. State and
local governments also have successfully transferred responsibility for public
museums to private, nonprofit groups, as Milwaukee did in 1992, maintaining and
even improving service while ending a constant drain on the treasury. The
Legislature could transfer management of Michigan’s state historic museums and
sites to private nonprofit groups. Approximate Savings: $3,952,640.
Approximately 20 percent of the
expenditure for the “Historical administration and services” line item funds the
work of state archivists; positions not recommended for elimination.
Program: Heritage publications
|
Appropriation: |
All from Special Revenue Funds: |
$700,000 |
|
|
Total: |
$700,000[30] |
Program Description:
This appropriation funds Michigan History magazine and other Michigan specific publications. Michigan
History is a state-produced bimonthly periodical, established by statute in 1913[31] and was first printed in 1917 as a scholarly journal for the
purpose of recording Michigan history for posterity. It evolved into its
current glossy magazine-style format with pictures and illustrations in 1978.
The magazine also produces promotional items and literature for Michigan
Historical Center, including books, posters, mugs, calendars and other items.
Recommended Action:
Funding for Michigan History
magazine should be eliminated. While promoting and chronicling Michigan history
is a worthy endeavor, there is no compelling reason to force taxpayers to
support state-produced publications on the subject. Each year, many thousands
of books and magazines are published on a wide variety of topics, history
included, by private entities who are funded voluntarily by only those who are
most interested in their topics.[32]
Savings: $700,000.
