The commission shall have the power and duty to:
(1) Pecuniary gifts.--Accept, on behalf of the Commonwealth, gifts and bequests, including securities, for the endowment of its work in accordance with the instructions of the donors and in conjunction with the Governor and State Treasurer, who shall, together with the members of the commission, constitute a body of trustees for the care of these funds. These trustees shall invest the funds in bonds of the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions and employ the interest and income from these investments for the purposes of the commission or apply these funds to the uses specified by the respective donors of the funds. Any donor of money or other property may specify that the donation shall be held in the form acquired, or shall be invested in or converted into some other specific property or class of investment, in which case the trustees shall be relieved of all liability which may result from the imprudent investment of the money so long as they comply with the instructions of the donor.
(2) Independent and cooperative services or programs.--Upon its own initiative or in cooperation with historical societies or organizations, conduct investigations upon historical or archaeological matters relative to this Commonwealth and report the findings for public information; with the approval of the Governor, enter into agreements with responsible historical associations, foundations and similar private organizations or with Federal agencies or public agencies of other states in order to carry on services or programs.
(3) Archaeological and anthropological investigations.--Examine, or cause to be examined, research or excavate the occupation or activity sites or areas and the cultural material remains of Native American, Colonial American and more recent American cultures in this Commonwealth, under the professional direction of the commission through the techniques of archaeology, anthropology and history; acquire, by purchase, gift or fieldwork, archaeological or anthropological collections of objects and data relative to the cultural history of this Commonwealth; conduct, or cause to be conducted, archaeological site surveys to locate, catalog, assess and permanently record these historic resources throughout this Commonwealth; maintain a central repository for map locations and written descriptions of such sites and historic resources; conduct, or cause to be conducted, research upon the cultural objects and data related to the cultural history of this Commonwealth and interpret the results of the research in scientific and popular publications, exhibits and special educational programs for the public; and undertake appropriate conservation, research, restoration and storage of all material items and data relative to the cultural heritage of this Commonwealth, which accrue to the archaeological and anthropological collections of the commission.
(4) Cooperation with qualified historical or archaeological societies.--Cooperate with any qualified historical or archaeological society in investigations of historical or archaeological matters relating to this Commonwealth and in arranging, cataloging, displaying and microfilming collections of historical papers and documents, and objects or materials relative to the natural or cultural history of this Commonwealth, and otherwise encourage their activities.
(5) Historical commemorations.--Develop, coordinate and carry out plans for celebrations commemorating important historical events, which shall be selected by the commission or the General Assembly upon passage of a concurrent resolution, in cooperation with qualified historical or archaeological societies and other responsible organizations.
(6) Geographic names.--Determine all unsettled questions concerning geographic names which arise in any department and determine the names of mountains, rivers, creeks and other topographic features in this Commonwealth. In the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under this paragraph, the commission shall cooperate with the United States Board on Geographic Names.
(7) Procurement of expert advice.--Consult with or procure the advice of experts in archaeology, anthropology, history, historical restoration, archival management, museum work or other fields related to its activities, compensate them for their services and establish committees of experts as needed to procure the advice.
(8) Museum assistance and local history grant program.--Establish and administer the museum assistance and local history grant program. The commission shall be required to approve all individual grants. All such grants shall be subject to audit review by the commission.
(9) Advisory boards.--Create such advisory boards as the commission may deem appropriate to perform duties designated by the commission. The names of proposed members of such advisory boards shall be submitted to the Governor for approval.
(10) Police powers.--Exercise the police powers necessary to enforce the law, including the rules and regulations of the commission. Authorized employees shall have full power to make arrests, with or without warrant, for all violations of law which they may witness upon the premises of any historic property to which they are assigned and may serve and execute warrants issued by proper authorities for any violation of law committed thereon.
(11) Rules and regulations.--Promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of its powers and duties.
(12) Annual reports.--Annually transmit to the State Government Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report which includes the following:
(i) A summary of the overall condition of museums and historic sites and holdings, including staffing levels and site visits by senior management personnel.
(ii) (Deleted by amendment).
(iii) A summary of all publications completed by the commission during the prior year.
(iv) A summary of collection deaccessioning activities.
(v) A summary of the progress in computerization of collections and inventories.
(13) Hold harmless authority.--Hold the Federal Government harmless from damages due to construction, operation and maintenance of the Erie Harbor East Canal Basin dredging project under the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-662, 33 U.S.C. § 2213(j)), except for damages due to the fault or negligence of the Federal Government or its contractors.
(14) Publications.--To sell to the public, at a store or by other methods, any publications selected by the commission for sale and published by any department, board, commission or officer of the Commonwealth, except documents published for the Governor and the General Assembly which shall be distributed by the Governor and the General Assembly without charge. To administer this paragraph, the commission may publish, for free distribution, a price list showing the publications which the commission is prepared to sell to the public and the charges for each publication. The commission shall transfer at least annually, to the fund from which the cost of the publication was paid, the actual cost of production of any publications sold during that period. Any remaining proceeds from the sale of a publication by the commission shall be deposited in the Historical Preservation Fund.