[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4507 Introduced in House (IH)]
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114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4507
To establish the Bureau of Land Management Foundation as a charitable,
nonprofit corporation, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 9, 2016
Mr. Lowenthal (for himself and Ms. McCollum) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Bureau of Land Management Foundation as a charitable,
nonprofit corporation, 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 ``Bureau of Land Management Foundation
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the Board or Directors
of the Foundation.
(2) Foundation.--The term ``Foundation'' means the Bureau
of Land Management Foundation established by this Act.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSES.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the Bureau of Land
Management Foundation as a charitable and nonprofit corporation that
shall not be considered an agency or establishment of the United
States.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the Foundation are to--
(1) encourage, accept, and administer private gifts of
money and of real and personal property for the benefit of, or
in connection with the activities and services of, the Bureau
of Land Management;
(2) undertake and conduct activities that further the
purposes for which public lands are administered; and
(3) undertake, conduct, and encourage educational,
technical, scientific, and other assistance or activities that
support the mission of the Bureau of Land Management.
SEC. 4. BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
(a) Establishment and Membership.--
(1) In general.--The Foundation shall have a governing
Board of Directors, which shall consist of no more than 9
members, each of whom shall be a United States citizen.
(2) Requirements of members.--A majority of members of the
Board shall have education or experience in natural, cultural,
conservation, or other resource management, law, or research
and, to the extent practicable, members of the Board shall
represent diverse points of view.
(3) Ex-officio member.--The Director of the Bureau of Land
Management shall be an ex-officio nonvoting member of the
Board.
(b) Appointment and Terms.--
(1) Initial appointment.--Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall appoint
the members of the Board who, except as otherwise provided in
paragraph (2), shall be appointed for terms of 6 years.
(2) Staggered appointments.--The Secretary shall stagger
the initial appointments to the Board, as determined to be
appropriate by the Secretary, so that--
(A) one-third of the members serve a term of 2
years;
(B) one-third of the members serve a term of 4
years; and
(C) one-third of the members serve a term of 6
years.
(3) Vacancy.--A vacancy on the Board shall be--
(A) filled not later than 60 days after vacancy
occurs in the manner of which the original appointment
was made; and
(B) for the balance of the term of the individual
who was replaced.
(4) Removal.--A member of the Board may be removed from the
Board by a majority vote of the Board if the individual misses
3 consecutive regularly scheduled meetings and the vacancy
shall be filled in accordance with paragraph (3).
(5) Term limit.--In no case shall an individual serve more
than 12 consecutive years on the Board.
(c) Chairman.--The Chairman--
(1) shall be elected by the Board from its members for a 2-
year term; and
(2) may be re-elected to the post while serving as a member
of the Board.
(d) Quorum.--A majority of the current voting membership of the
Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
(e) Meetings.--The Board shall meet at the call of the Chairman at
least once a year.
(f) Reimbursement of Expenses.--Serving as a Member of the Board
shall not constitute employment by the United States Government for any
purpose. Members shall serve without pay other than reimbursement for
the actual and necessary traveling and subsistence expenses incurred in
the performance of their duties for the Foundation in accordance with
section 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
(g) General Powers.--The Board may complete the organization of the
Foundation by appointing offices and employees, adopting a constitution
and bylaws consistent with the purposes of the Foundation and this Act,
and undertaking other such acts as may be necessary to function and to
carry out the provisions of this title.
(h) Officers and Employees.--Officers and employees of the
Foundation may not be appointed until the Foundation has sufficient
funds to pay them for their service. Appointment as an officer or
employee of the Foundation shall not constitute employment by the
United States.
(i) Limitation and Conflicts of Interest.--
(1) Prohibition on political campaign activity.--The
Foundation shall not participate or intervene in a political
campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.
(2) Conflict of interest.--No member of the Board, officer,
or employee of the Foundation shall participate, directly or
indirectly, in the consideration or determination of any
question before the Foundation affecting--
(A) the financial interests of the member of the
Board, officer, or employee; or
(B) the interests of any corporation partnership,
entity, or organization in which such member of the
Board, officer, or employee--
(i) is an officer, director, or trustee; or
(ii) has any direct or indirect financial
interest.
SEC. 5. POWERS AND OBLIGATIONS.
(a) In General.--The Foundation--
(1) shall have perpetual succession; and
(2) may conduct business throughout the several States,
territories, and possessions of the United States.
(b) Notice and Service of Process.--The Foundation shall at all
times maintain a designated agent in the District of Columbia
authorized to accept service of process for the Foundation. The serving
of notice to, or service of process upon, the agent required under this
subsection, or mailed to the business address of such agent, shall be
deemed as service upon or notice to the Foundation.
(c) Seal.--The Foundation shall have an official seal selected by
the Board which shall be judicially noticed.
(d) Powers.--In addition to powers otherwise authorized under this
Act, to carry out its purposes, the Foundation shall have the usual
powers of a not-for-profit corporation in the District of Columbia,
including the power to--
(1) accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use any
gift, devise, or bequest, either absolutely or in trust, of
real or personal property or any income therefrom or other
interest therein;
(2) acquire by donation, gift, devise, purchase or
exchange, and dispose of any real or personal property or
interest therein;
(3) sell, donate, lease, invest, reinvest, retain or
otherwise dispose of any property or income therefrom unless
limited by the instrument of transfer;
(4) borrow money and issue bonds, debentures, or other debt
instruments;
(5) sue and be sued, and complain and defend itself in any
court of competent jurisdiction, except that the Directors of
the Board shall not be personally liable, except for gross
negligence;
(6) enter into contracts or other arrangements with public
agencies, private organizations, and persons and to make such
payments as may be necessary to carry out the purposes thereof;
and
(7) do any and all acts necessary and proper to carry out
the purposes of the Foundation.
(e) Real Property.--
(1) Title and interest.--For the purposes of this Act, an
interest in real property shall be treated as including mineral
and water rights, rights of way, and easements, appurtenant or
in gross.
(2) Acceptance of real property.--A gift, devise, or
bequest of real property may be accepted by the Foundation even
though it is encumbered, restricted, or subject to beneficial
interests of private persons if any current or future interest
therein is for the benefit of the Foundation.
(3) Refusal of real property.--The Foundation may, in its
discretion, decline any gift, devise, or bequest of real
property.
(4) Condemnation prohibited.--No lands or waters, or
interests therein, that are owned by the Foundation shall be
subject to condemnation by any State or political subdivision,
or any agent of instrumentality thereof.
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AND SUPPORT.
(a) Establishment Support.--For the purposes of assisting the
Foundation in establishing an office and meeting initial
administrative, project, and other expenses, the Secretary is
authorized to provide to the Foundation $3,000,000 for fiscal year
2016, $2,000,000 for fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2019, and $1,000,000
for fiscal year 2020. Such funds shall remain available to the
Foundation until they are expended for authorized purposes.
(b) Administrative Expenses.--The Secretary may provide personnel,
facilities, equipment, and other administrative services to the
Foundation with such limitations and on such terms and conditions as
the Secretary shall establish. The Foundation may reimburse the
Secretary for any support provided under this subsection, in whole or
in part, and any reimbursement received by the Secretary under this
subsection shall be deposited into the Treasury to the credit of the
appropriations then current and chargeable for the cost of providing
the services.
SEC. 7. VOLUNTEERS.
The Secretary may accept, without regard to the civil service
classification laws, rules, and regulations, the services of the
Foundation, the Board, and the offices or employees or agents of the
Foundation, without compensation from the Department of the Interior,
as volunteers for the performance of the functions under section 307(d)
of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1737(d)).
SEC. 8. AUDITS AND REPORTS REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Audits.--For purposes of the Act entitled ``An Act for audit of
accounts of private corporations established under Federal law'',
approved August 30, 1964 (36 U.S.C. 1101 through 1103), the Foundation
shall be treated as a private corporation established under Federal
law.
(b) Annual Report.--The Foundation shall transmit at the end of
each fiscal year a report to Congress of its proceedings and activities
during that year, including a full and complete statement of its
receipts, expenditures, and investments.
SEC. 9. UNITED STATES RELEASE FROM LIABILITY.
The United States shall not be liable for any debts, defaults,
acts, or omissions of the Foundation, nor shall the full faith and
credit of the United States extend to any obligations of the
Foundation.
SEC. 10. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY.
Nothing in this Act authorizes the Foundation to perform any
function the authority for which is provided to the Bureau of Land
Management under any other provision of law.
SEC. 11. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.
Amounts provided as a grant by the Foundation shall not be used
for--
(1) any expense related to litigation; or
(2) any activity the purpose of which is to influence
legislation pending before Congress.
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