(a) The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources shall maintain and administer State historic sites and museums under the management of the Office of Archives and History for the collection, preservation, study, and exhibition of authentic artifacts and other historical materials relating to the history and heritage of North Carolina. The Department, with the approval of the Historical Commission, may acquire, either by purchase, gift, or loan such artifacts and materials, and, having acquired them, shall according to accepted museum practices classify, accession, preserve, and where feasible exhibit such materials and make them available for study. Within available funds, one or more branch museums of history or specialized regional history museums may be established and administered by the Department. The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, subject to the availability of staff and funds, may give financial, technical, and professional assistance to nonstate historical museums sponsored by governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations according to regulations adopted by the North Carolina Historical Commission.

Notwithstanding Article 3A of Chapter 143 of the N.C. Gen. Stat., N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-49(4), or any other law pertaining to surplus State property, the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources may, with the explicit approval of the North Carolina Historical Commission sell, lease, donate, trade, or place on loan any artifact owned by the State of North Carolina and in the custody of and curated by the Office of Archives and History, unless the sale, lease, donation, trade, or loan would be contrary to the terms of acquisition. The net proceeds of any sale or lease, after deduction of the expenses attributable to that sale or lease, shall be deposited in the Office of Archives and History Artifact Fund to the credit of the museum or archives that had custody of the artifact sold or leased and shall be used only for the expenses associated with the purchase, maintenance, or conservation of other artifacts. No artifact curated by any agency of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources may be pledged or mortgaged.

(b) Insofar as practicable, the Office of Archives and History shall accession and maintain records showing provenance, value, location, and other pertinent information on such furniture, furnishings, decorative items, and other objects as have historical or cultural importance and which are owned by or to be acquired by the State for use in the State Capitol and the Executive Mansion, and, upon request of the Department of Administration, any other state-owned building. When any such item or object has been entered in the accession records of the Office of Archives and History, the custodian of such item or object shall, upon its removal from the premises upon which it was located or when it is otherwise disposed of, submit to the Office of Archives and History sufficient details concerning its removal or disposition to permit an adequate entry in the accession records to the end that its location or disposition, and authority for such change, shall be shown therein.

(c), (d) Repealed by Session Laws 2015-218, s. 1, effective August 18, 2015. (1973, c. 476, s. 48; 1979, c. 861, s. 1; 1987, c. 721, s. 1; 1991, c. 689, s. 191(a); c. 757, s. 6; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 769, s. 12.3; 1997-411, s. 4; 2002-159, s. 35(g); 2015-218, s. 1; 2015-241, s. 14.30(s); 2023-70, s. 2(b).)