N.Y. Education Law § 233: State Museum; collections made by the staff

§ 233. State Museum; collections made by the staff. 1. All scientific

specimens and collections, works of art, objects of historic interest

and similar property appropriate to a general museum, if owned by the

state and not placed in other custody by a specific law, shall

constitute the collections of the state museum. The state museum shall

be the custodian of the collections, shall perform standard curatorial,

research and educational activities and a director appointed by the

regents shall constitute its head.

2. Any scientific collection made by a member of the museum staff

during his term of office shall, unless otherwise authorized by

resolution of the regents, belong to the state and form part of the

state museum.

3. The state of New York, through its legislative authority accepts

the provisions of section one hundred twenty of the federal-aid highway

act of nineteen hundred fifty-six (70 Stat. 374) relating to the salvage

of archaeological or paleontological objects, including but not limited

to ruins, historic sites, Indian burial grounds, cemeteries, buildings,

artifacts, fossils or, other objects of antiquity having national

significance from an historical, cultural, social or scientific

standpoint, and empowers and directs the commissioner of education to

promulgate joint regulations with the department of environmental

conservation, the office of general services, and the office of parks,

recreation and historic preservation and make agreements with those and

other appropriate state departments or agencies and such agency or

agencies as needed to carry out the purposes of such provision of law.

4. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision three of this section,

no person shall investigate, excavate, remove, injure, appropriate or

destroy any object of archaeological, historical, cultural, social,

scientific or paleontological interest, situated on, in or under lands

owned by the state of New York, without the written permission of the

commissioner of education. A violation of this provision shall

constitute a class A misdemeanor. The attorney general, either

independently or upon referral from a state agency, shall seek civil

and/or criminal prosecution, civil and/or criminal penalties and any

other relief, including but not limited to seizure and forfeiture of the

appropriate items, and forfeiture of the instrumentalities of the

unauthorized actions on state lands. The discovery of any such objects

shall be forthwith reported to the commissioner by the state department

or agency having jurisdiction over such lands.

5. Permits for the examination, excavation or gathering of

archaeological, historical, cultural, social, scientific or

paleontological objects upon the lands under their respective

jurisdictions may be granted by the heads of those state departments or

agencies to persons authorized by the commissioner of education for the

purposes of the state museum and state science service, for the purpose

of the preservation of any such objects worthy of permanent preservation

and, in all cases, to the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge

relating thereto.