OFFICIAL OPINION No. 25

OFFICIAL OPINION No. 25 Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission-Disposition of admission fees -Administrative Code of 1929. Under the Act of May 27, 1957, P. L. 204, moneys collected at the Pennsylvania Farm Museum of Landis Valley are payable into the Historical Preservation Fund. Harrisburg, Pa., October 21, 1957. Honorable S. K. Stevens, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Sir: Reference is made to your memorandum regarding the dis- position of funds collected as admissions to the Pennsylvania Farm Museum of Landis Valley, in the Township of Manheim, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. 1 House Bill No. 317 of the 1957 Session. House Bill No. 470 of the 1955 Session. House Bill No. 835 of the 1953 Session. House Bill No. 1500 of the 1951 Session. OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 119 The Act of June 28, 1951, P. L. 591, amended clause (g) of § 2801-A of The Administrative Code of 1929, the Act of April 9, 1929, P. L. 177, 71 P. S. § 716, and authorized the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to charge admission fees to historical buildings, such fees to be paid into the State Treasury through the Department of Revenue and credited to the Historical Preservation Fund. The same act added§ 2802-A to the Code, 71 P. S. § 717, and this section then read: "Historical Preservation Fund.-All moneys collected by the Department of Property and Supplies from the sale of publications of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and all moneys collected by the commission from fees charged for admission to historical buildings, shall be paid into the State Treasury through the Department of Revenue and credited to a fund to be known as the 'Historical Preservation Fund,' which is hereby created. Except as here- inafter provided, all moneys in the fund from time to time are hereby appropriated to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for the preservation, care and mainte- nance of the historical buildings, grounds, monuments and antiquities committed to its custody, and for the publication and republication of matters of historical or archaeological interest, and for the research and editorial work incidental thereto. Whenever the moneys credited to the Historical Preservation Fund during any fiscal biennium exceeds the average biennial allocation for the above purposes for the two preceding fiscal bienniums, the excess shall be transferred to the General Fund." The Act of June 28, 1951, P. L. 593, amended The Fiscal Code, the Act of April 9, 1929, P. L. 343. By amendment to § 302, 72 P. S. § 302, the Historical Preservation Fund was added to the funds listed in this section and clause 22 was added to the same section, and reads: "22. Historical Preservation Fund.-All moneys received by the Treasury Department from the Department of Reve- nue arising from the sale by the Department of Property and Supplies of publications of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and all moneys received from admission fees to historical buildings, shall be credited to the Historical Preservation Fund." The Act of January 5, 1952, P. L. (1955) 1824, 71 P. S. §§ 1060.41 to 1060.46, authorized the Department of Property and Supplies, with the approval of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commis- sion, to acquire all the land, buildings and appurtenances known as the Landis Valley Museum in the Township of Manheim, Lancaster County, and § 6 thereof, 71 P. S. § 1060.46, provided that the admis- sion fees and proceeds from the sale of many duplicate or inappropriate 120 OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL objects in the Landis Valley collections received by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission should be paid into the General Fund of the State Treasury and appropriated to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for the maintenance of existing buildings, the construction of new buildings, landscaping, and repair of antiquities at the Pennsylvania Farm Museum of Landis Valley. Thus, the Acts of 1951, supra, were irreconcilable in so far as the designation of the fund into which the admission fees collected at the Pennsylvania Farm Museum were concerned. Turning to the "Statutory Construction Act," the Act of May 28, 1937, P. L. 1019, as amended, 46 P. S. §§ 501 to 602, we find the following applicable provision in § 65, 46 P. S. § 565: "Whenever the provisions of two or more laws passed during the same session of the Legislature are irreconcilable, the law latest in date of final enactment, irrespective of its effective date, shall prevail from the time is becomes effective. * * *" This section is a statutory expression of a judicially established canon of interpretation. See In re Report of Auditors of Borough of Strouds- burg, 154 Pa. Super. 659, 37 A. 2d 21 (1944). Petition of Bowie Coal Co., 368 Pa. 102, 82 A. 2d 24 (1951), also held that if acts are clearly inconsistent and irreconcilable the one latest in date of final enactment must prevail. Thus, the Act of January 5, 1952, P. L. (1955) 1824, supra, which was by its terms effective immediately, became the prevailing act on that date in so far as admission fees collected at the Pennsylvania Farm Museum were concerned and required their payment into the General Fund. This brings us to a consideration of the Act of May 27, 1957, P. L. 204, which amended The Administrative Code of 1929, and more specifically§ 2802-A, 71 P. S. § 717. This section now reads: "Historical Preservation Fund. All moneys collected by the Department of Property and Supplies from the sale of publi- cations for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Com- mission and all moneys collected by the commission from fees and sales shall be paid into the State Treasury through the Department of Revenue and credited to a fund to be known as the 'Historical Preservation Fund,' which is hereby created. Except as hereinafter provided all moneys in the fund from time to time are hereby appropriated to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for the preservation, care and maintenance of the historical buildings, museums, grounds, monuments, public records and antiquities com- mitted to its custody for the publication and republication of matters of historical or archaeological interest and for the OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL research and editorial work incidental thereto and for the pur- chase of publications, postcards and other souvenirs of an historical nature for sale at the State Museum and at the historical properties administered by the commission. When- ever the moneys credited to the Historical Preservation Fund during any fiscal biennium exceed the average biennial allo- cation for the above purposes for the two preceding fiscal bi- enniums the excess shall be transferred to the General Fund." 121 This situation is governed by § 66 of the Statutory Construction Act, supra, 46 P. S. § 566, which reads: "Whenever the provisions of two or more laws passed at different sessions of the Legislature are irreconcilable, the law latest in date of final enactment shall prevail." Applying this principle of interpretation, it is clear that the Act of 1957, supra, must prevail. One other provision of the Statutory Construction Act merits atten- tion with respect to the questions raised by your inquiry. Section 63 of said act, 46 P. S. § 563, reads: "Whenever a general provision in a law shall be in con- flict with a special provision in the same or another law, the two shall be construed, if possible, so that effect may be given to both. If the conflict between the two provisions be ir- reconcilable, the special provisions shall prevail and shall be construed as an exception to the general provision, unless the general provision shall be enacted later and it shall be the manifest intention of the Legislature that such general provi- sion shall prevail." We are of the opinion that since the general provision is the latest enactment and since the General Fund is mentioned in this act and provision made as to what moneys are to be paid into it, the General Assembly has manifested its intention that the general provision will prevail over the special provision. We are of the opinion and you are accordingly advised that pursuant to the provisions of the Act of May 27, 1957, P. L. 204, moneys col- lected at the Pennsylvania Farm Museum of Landis Valley should be paid into the Historical Preservation Fund. Very truly yours, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, HARRINGTON ADAMS, Deputy Attorney General. THOMAS D. McBRIDE, Attorney General. 122 OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL