SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) Every civilization defines itself in part by its past, and its understanding of its past helps determine its basic values and its future aspirations. Through learning this past, its young and future generations come to better understand the adult society in which they live, and to better understand themselves.

(2) As America’s physical culture becomes remarkably similar throughout the country, it is left to the natural environment and the structures of the past to give a unique sense of place to our communities. Preserving these structures is becoming increasingly compelling as the homogeneity of our physical culture increases.

(3) The buildings, other structures, and artifacts that embody California’s past are in escalating danger of being redeveloped, remodeled, renovated, paved, excavated, bulldozed, modernized, and lost forever.

(4) California is one of the most diverse populations on earth and its cultural and historic preservation program should reflect that fact. Early cultural and historic preservation efforts often focused on the structures and activities of our European ancestors. Without minimizing their contribution, it is important to pursue historical threads important to California’s growing Latino population, to African-Americans, to groups of citizens from China, Japan, Vietnam, and Laos, and to many other groups of citizens with uniquely identifiable cultures and histories. It is increasingly important and valuable to preserve the physical and cultural history of these groups’ presence and contributions.

(5) The study of history once focused largely on the actions and works of wealthy, powerful, noble, brilliant, or famous persons. More recently, historians have tried to increase the understanding of how more ordinary people lived and thought. California’s historic preservation efforts should allow its citizens and visitors to experience something of the physical world of both.

(6) California’s retained past certainly includes sites important to its prehistoric and later Native American people, and the remaining great structures of the 19th century. But the state also needs to consciously preserve selected remnants of the 1930s, of California’s great role in World War II, as well as representative structures and sites that were culturally or economically important during the 1950s, 1960s, and, in some cases, even more recently.

(7) California’s missions are among California’s most evocative and popular historical structures. Their continued protection and restoration should continue to have high priority.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to establish a California Trust for Cultural and Historic Preservation. The trust shall be required by the legislation to do all of the following:

(1) Develop programs to protect, preserve, and interpret California’s cultural and historic resources, including museums, and to make them available to the public.

(2) Develop programs including, but not limited to, protecting and interpreting California historical lifestyles; California military, industrial, and commercial history; and unique and identifiable California communities.

(3) Allocate proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 5096.610 of the Public Resources Code, as well as general funds and other funds, for the purposes described in this subdivision.

(4) Develop a master plan for cultural and historic preservation for the State of California.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would consolidate within state government various cultural and historic preservation programs.

(d) As used in this act, the following words have the following meanings:

(1) “California Historical Lifestyles Program” includes, but is not limited to, any building, structure, site area, place, artifact, or collection of artifacts that serves to preserve and demonstrate culturally significant aspects of ordinary or particularly creative California lifestyles during the 19th and 20th centuries, including, but not limited to, representative or exceptionally expressive residences, recreational facilities and equipment, farms and ranches, transportation technologies, and innovative shopping arrangements.

(2) “California Military, Industrial, and Commercial History Program” includes, but is not limited to, any building, structure, site area, place, artifact, or collection of artifacts that serves to preserve, display, demonstrate, or interpret any of the following:

(A) California’s contribution to the national defense during the 19th and 20th centuries, including facilities and artifacts from closed military bases.

(B) The industries, technologies, individuals, and commercial enterprises that built California’s enormous economic strength, including, but not limited to, aircraft construction, banking and finance, electronics and related technologies, medical technologies, petroleum production and refining, movie and television production, and agriculture.

(3) “Unique and Identifiable California Communities Program” includes, but is not limited to, any building, structure, site area, place, artifact, or collection of artifacts that serves to preserve, display, demonstrate, or interpret the contributions of the many unique identifiable ethnic and other communities that have added significant elements to California’s culture in the 19th and 20th centuries, including, but not limited to, its architecture, landscaping, urban forms, recreation, food and drink, styles, and pastimes.