S. 1417

One Hundred Fifth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven

An Act

To provide for the design, construction, furnishing and equipping of a Center for

Performing Arts within the complex known as the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural

Center and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hispanic Cultural Center Act

of 1997’’.

SEC. 2. CONSTRUCTION OF A CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS.

(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings:

(1) The United States has an enriched legacy of Hispanic

influence in politics, government, economic development, and

cultural expression.

(2) The Hispanic culture in what is now the United States

can be traced to 1528 when a Spanish expedition from Cuba

to Florida was shipwrecked on the Texas coast.

(3) The Hispanic culture in New Mexico can be traced

to 1539 when a Spanish Franciscan Friar, Marcos de Niza,

and his guide, Estevanico, traveled into present day New Mexico in search of the fabled city of Cibola and made contact

with the people of Zuni.

(4) The Hispanic influence in New Mexico is particularly

dominant and a part of daily living for all the citizens of

New Mexico, who are a diverse composite of racial, ethnic,

and cultural peoples. Don Juan de On ̃ ate and the first New

Mexican families established the first capital in the United

States, San Juan de los Caballeros, in July of 1598.

(5) Based on the 1990 census, there are approximately

650,000 Hispanics in New Mexico, the majority having roots

reaching back ten or more generations.

(6) There are an additional 200,000 Hispanics living outside

of New Mexico with roots in New Mexico.

(7) The New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center is a living

tribute to the Hispanic experience and will provide all citizens

of New Mexico, the Southwestern United States, the entire

United States, and around the world, an opportunity to learn

about, partake in, and enjoy the unique Hispanic culture, and

the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center will assure that

this 400-year old culture is preserved.
S. 1417—2

(8) The New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center will teach,

showcase, and share all facets of Hispanic culture, including

literature, performing arts, visual arts, culinary arts, and language arts.

(9) The New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center will promote

a better cross-cultural understanding of the Hispanic culture

and the contributions of individuals to the society in which

we all live.

(10) In 1993, the legislature and Governor of New Mexico

created the Hispanic Cultural Division as a division within

the Office of Cultural Affairs. One of the principal responsibilities of the Hispanic Cultural Division is to oversee the planning, construction, and operation of the New Mexico Hispanic

Cultural Center.

(11) The mission of the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural

Center is to create a greater appreciation and understanding

of Hispanic culture.

(12) The New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center will serve

as a local, regional, national, and international site for the

study and advancement of Hispanic culture, expressing both

the rich history and the forward-looking aspirations of Hispanics throughout the world.

(13) The New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center will be

a Hispanic arts and humanities showcase to display the works

of national and international artists, and to provide a venue

for educators, scholars, artists, children, elders, and the general

public.

(14) The New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center will provide

a venue for presenting the historic and contemporary representations and achievements of the Hispanic culture.

(15) The New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center will sponsor

arts and humanities programs, including programs related to

visual arts of all forms (including drama, dance, and traditional

and contemporary music), research, literary arts, genealogy,

oral history, publications, and special events such as, fiestas,

culinary arts demonstrations, film video productions, storytelling presentations and education programs.

(16) Phase I of the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center

complex is scheduled to be completed by August of 1998 and

is planned to consist of an art gallery with exhibition space

and a museum, administrative offices, a restaurant, a ballroom,

a gift shop, an amphitheater, a research and literary arts

center, and other components.

(17) Phase II of the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center

complex is planned to include a performing arts center (containing a 700-seat theater, a stage house, and a 300-seat film/

video theater), a 150-seat black box theater, an art studio

building, a culinary arts building, and a research and literary

arts building.
S. 1417—3

(18) It is appropriate for the Federal Government to share

in the cost of constructing the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural

Center because Congress recognizes that the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center has the potential to be a premier facility

for performing arts and a national repository for Hispanic arts

and culture.

(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

(1) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ means the Center for

Performing Arts, within the complex known as the New Mexico

Hispanic Cultural Center, which Center for the Performing

Arts is a central facility in Phase II of the New Mexico Hispanic

Cultural Center complex.

(2) HISPANIC CULTURAL DIVISION.—The term ‘‘Hispanic Cultural Division’’ means the Hispanic Cultural Division of the

Office of Cultural Affairs of the State of New Mexico.

(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

of the Interior.

(c) CONSTRUCTION OF CENTER.—The Secretary shall award a

grant to New Mexico to pay for the Federal share of the costs

of the design, construction, furnishing, and equipping of the Center

for Performing Arts that will be located at a site to be determined

by the Hispanic Cultural Division, within the complex known as

the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center.

(d) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive a grant awarded under

subsection (c), New Mexico, acting through the Director of

the Hispanic Cultural Division—

(A) shall submit to the Secretary, within 30 days of

the date of enactment of this section, a copy of the New

Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center Program document dated

January 1996; and

(B) shall exercise due diligence to expeditiously execute, in a period not to exceed 90 days after the date

of enactment of this section, the memorandum of understanding under paragraph (2) recognizing that time is of

the essence for the construction of the Center because

1998 marks the 400th anniversary of the first permanent

Spanish settlement in New Mexico.

(2) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The memorandum

of understanding described in paragraph (1) shall provide—

(A) the date of completion of the construction of the

Center;

(B) that Antoine Predock, an internationally recognized

architect, shall be the supervising architect for the

construction of the Center or any other architect subsequently named by the State;

(C) that the Director of the Hispanic Cultural Division

shall award the contract for architectural engineering and

design services in accordance with the New Mexico Procurement Code; and

(D) that the contract for the construction of the Center—

(i) shall be awarded pursuant to a competitive

bidding process; and

(ii) shall be awarded not later than 3 months after

the solicitation for bids for the construction of the

Center.
S. 1417—4

(3) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the costs

described in subsection (c) shall be 50 percent.

(4) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal share of the

costs described in subsection (c) shall be in cash or in kind

fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or services. The

non-Federal share shall include any contribution received by

New Mexico for the design, construction, furnishing, or equipping of Phase I or Phase II of the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural

Center complex prior to the date of enactment of this section.

The non-Federal share of the costs described in subsection

(c) shall include the following:

(A) $16,410,000 that was appropriated by the New

Mexico legislature since January 1, 1993, for the planning,

property acquisition, design, construction, furnishing, and

equipping of the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center

complex.

(B) $116,000 that was appropriated by the New Mexico

legislature for fiscal year 1995 for the startup and operating

expenses of the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center.

(C) $226,000 that was appropriated by the New Mexico

legislature for fiscal year 1996 for the startup and operating

expenses of the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center.

(D) $442,000 that was appropriated by the New Mexico

legislature for fiscal year 1997 for the startup and operating

expenses of the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center.

(E) $551,000 that was appropriated by the New Mexico

legislature for fiscal year 1998 for the startup and operating

expenses of the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center.

(F) A 10.9-acre lot with a historic 22,000 square foot

building donated by the Mayor and City Council of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to New Mexico for the New Mexico

Hispanic Cultural Center.

(G) 12 acres of ‘‘Bosque’’ land adjacent to the New

Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center complex for use by the

New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center. (H) The $30,000 donation by the Sandia National Laboratories and Lockheed Martin Corporation to support the

New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center and the program

activities of the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center.

(e) USE OF FUNDS FOR DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, FURNISHING, AND EQUIPMENT.—The funds received under a grant awarded under

subsection (c) shall be used only for the design, construction,

management, inspection, furnishing, and equipment of the Center.
S. 1417—5

(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized

to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section a

total of $17,800,000 for fiscal year 1998 and succeeding fiscal years.

Funds appropriated pursuant to the authority of the preceding

sentence shall remain available until expended.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.