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The committee on Ways and Means to whom was to whom was committed the Senate Bill establishing the Public Libraries Fund (Senate, No. 1997 ), reported, recommending that the same ought to pass, with an amendment substituting a new draft with the same title (Senate, No. 2232). Steven C. Panagiotakos, |
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 78 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 19N the following section:-
Section 19O. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate trust fund to be known as the Public Libraries Fund to be administered by the board of library commissioners. The purpose of the fund is to enhance public library services by providing a matching incentive program for funds raised for local public libraries. All monies deposited into the fund shall be expended exclusively for the purposes set forth in this section. No expenditure from the fund shall cause the fund to be in deficiency at the close of a fiscal year. Monies deposited in the fund that are unexpended at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal year.
(b) Subject to appropriation, the commonwealth shall provide funding for the Public Libraries Fund. Such funding shall be divided annually among municipalities in which public libraries report eligible local matching funds. Eligible local matching funds shall include, but not be limited to, new funds contributed to library foundations, endowments, cash gifts, challenge grants and gifts from friends of library groups. To be eligible for assistance from the fund, a library shall maintain a statement of eligible gifts and donations. Funds shall be payable to those municipalities in which libraries raise at least $2,000 from eligible local matching funds and are certified to receive state aid to public libraries.
(c) Amounts received from the Public Libraries Fund shall be deposited with the treasurer of the city or town and held as a separate account and shall be expended by the public library without further appropriation only to enhance library services. Libraries that raise at least $2,000 shall be eligible for state matching funds equal to $.50 for each dollar raised, but only the first $100,000 raised by a library shall be eligible for matching funds.
(d) Funds from the Public Libraries Fund shall not be used as part of the local match for an approved public library project as defined in section19H or to meet the appropriation requirement as defined in section 19A. Not more than 4 per cent of funds appropriated for the Public Libraries Fund shall be used for administrative purposes by the board of library commissioners.
(e) The board of library commissioners shall adopt regulations to administer this section.
