74-A - New York state collectible series panel.
§ 74-a. New York state collectible series panel. 1. There is hereby created an advisory panel to be known as the "New York state collectible series panel" which, in connection with the design, marketing, distribution and sale of collectible items bearing the great seal, shall have the powers and duties provided for in this section. Such panel shall consist of the director of the state museum, who shall serve as chairperson, the secretary of state and ten other members appointed by the governor, three of whom shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the temporary president of the senate, one of whom shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the senate, three of whom shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the speaker of the assembly and one of whom shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the assembly. The secretary of state shall be an ex-officio, non-voting member of the panel, and shall provide technical expertise and advice to the panel as necessary. The appointed members of the panel shall serve for a term of three years provided, however, that of the members initially appointed by the governor, one member chosen upon the recommendation of the speaker of the assembly, one member chosen upon the recommendation of the temporary president of the senate, and one member chosen by the governor shall serve an initial term of one year; one member chosen upon the recommendation of the speaker of the assembly, one member chosen upon the recommendation of the temporary president of the senate, and one member chosen by the governor shall serve an initial term of two years. Members of the panel shall not be entitled to any compensation for services on the panel but shall be entitled to be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in performance of their official duties hereunder. Vacancies on the panel shall be filled in the same manner and for the remainder of the term of the original appointment. 2. The functions, powers and duties of the panel shall be as follows: a. celebrate the tradition of New York by annually designating and monitoring the production or manufacture of a series of collectible memorabilia to be made available in limited quantities for purchase by the public. Such memorabilia shall have the great seal engrossed or printed thereon and shall be identified as a limited edition collectible. All memorabilia shall be accompanied by a pamphlet approved by the panel and provided by the manufacturer which shall provide the historical information on both the item and the manufacturer; b. enter into such contracts and agreements, or authorize another entity to enter into such contracts and agreements, with any New York based corporation to make such memorabilia available to the public. Such agreement shall include the price at which such items may be sold, the amount thereof which may be retained by such corporation as profit, the amount to be realized by the retailer, and the amount to be realized by the state from such sale; c. solicit and secure ideas and suggestions from New York based businesses as to the memorabilia to be so designated; d. monitor the marketing and sale of such memorabilia to insure authenticity; and e. engage in such other activities as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. 3. The monies realized by the state from the sale of the memorabilia authorized by the panel shall be deposited into the New York state collectible series fund established in section ninety-four-d of the state finance law. 4. The panel shall be entitled to request and receive and shall utilize and be provided with such facilities, resources and data of the state museum and the secretary of state as it may reasonably request tocarry out properly its powers and duties hereunder. The panel may solicit the support of any state governmental entity in distributing information to the public concerning the availability of such memorabilia, and such governmental entity is hereby authorized to cooperate in such task. 5. The secretary of state shall, upon such terms and conditions as the panel may deem appropriate, furnish an impression, replica or print of the great seal of the state for use in preparing memorabilia pursuant to this section. 6. The panel is authorized to award grants as specified in this section and section ninety-four-d of the state finance law. 7. The panel shall file an annual report with the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly on the program provided for in this section. Such report shall be filed annually on or before March first.