Senate Bill 263

This act would establish a cultural resources professional incentive program for the purpose of enabling and encouraging academically talented Delawareans to pursue careers as cultural resource professionals. It would also provide incentives for persons already serving in positions with cultural resource agencies, such as the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs or with organizations that are institutional members of the Delaware Museum Association, among others, to further their professional education. This program would strengthen Delaware’s ability to both recruit and retain a more diverse workforce and would help the state meet federal credentialing requirements for federally-funded projects. The program would create a new “§ 3425” of Title 14, Subchapter III. It is modeled after the “Ada Leigh Soles Memorial Professional Librarian and Archivist Incentive Program” (Title 14, Section 3423 of the Delaware Code), enacted in 2011. The program would be named for the late Lewis M. “Skipper” Purnell, one of Delaware’s leading historical preservationists and husband of Mrs. Matilda “Til” Purnell, a great Delaware environmentalist in her own right.