20 U.S.C. § 959 : US Code - Section 959: Administrative provisions

Search 20 U.S.C. § 959 : US Code - Section 959: Administrative provisions

(a) General authority of Chairpersons
In addition to any authorities vested in them by other provisions
of this subchapter, the Chairperson of the National Endowment for
the Arts and the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the
Humanities, in carrying out their respective functions, shall each
have authority -
(1) to prescribe such regulations as the Chairperson deems
necessary governing the manner in which the Chairperson's
functions shall be carried out;
(2) in the discretion of the Chairperson of an Endowment, after
receiving the recommendation of the National Council of that
Endowment, to receive money and other property donated,
bequeathed, or devised to that Endowment with or without a
condition or restriction, including a condition that the
Chairperson use other funds of that Endowment for the purposes of
the gift, except that a Chairperson may receive a gift without a
recommendation from the Council to provide support for any
application or project which can be approved without Council
recommendation under the provisions of sections 955(f) and 957(f)
of this title, and may receive a gift of $15,000, or less,
without Council recommendation in the event the Council fails to
provide such recommendation within a reasonable period of time,
and to use, sell, or otherwise dispose of such property for the
purpose of carrying out sections 954(c) and 956(c) of this title;
(3) to appoint employees, subject to the civil service laws, as
necessary to carry out the Chairperson's functions, define their
duties, and supervise and direct their activities;
(4) to utilize experts and consultants, including panels of
experts, who may be employed as authorized by section 3109 of
title 5;
(5) to accept and utilize the services of voluntary and
uncompensated personnel and reimburse them for travel expenses,
including per diem, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5 for
persons in the Government service employed without compensation;
(6) to make advance, progress, and other payments without
regard to section 3324 of title 31;
(7) to rent office space in the District of Columbia; and
(8) to make other necessary expenditures.
(b) Rules for distribution of donations, bequests, and devises;
gifts with or without conditions; transfers for tax purposes
(1) In any case in which any money or other property is donated,
bequeathed, or devised to the Foundation without designation of the
Endowment for the benefit of which such property is intended, and
without condition or restriction other than that it be used for the
purposes of the Foundation, such property shall be deemed to have
been donated, bequeathed, or devised in equal shares to each
Endowment and each Chairperson of an Endowment shall have authority
to receive such property.
(2) In any case in which any money or other property is donated,
bequeathed, or devised to the Foundation with a condition or
restriction, such property shall be deemed to have been donated,
bequeathed, or devised to that Endowment whose function it is to
carry out the purpose or purposes described or referred to by the
terms of such condition or restriction, and each Chairperson of an
Endowment shall have authority to receive such property.
(3) For the purposes of the preceding sentence, if one or more of
the purposes of such a condition or restriction is covered by the
functions of both Endowments, or if some of the purposes of such a
condition or restriction are covered by the functions of one
Endowment and other of the purposes of such a condition or
restriction are covered by the functions of the other Endowment,
the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities shall determine
an equitable manner for distribution between each of the Endowments
of the property so donated, bequeathed, or devised.
(4) For the purposes of the income tax, gift tax, and estate tax
laws of the United States, any money or other property donated,
bequeathed, or devised to the Foundation or one of its Endowments
and received by the Chairperson of an Endowment pursuant to
authority derived under this subsection shall be deemed to have
been donated, bequeathed, or devised to or for the use of the
United States.
(c) Advisory panels; membership; procedures
The Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts shall
utilize advisory panels to review applications, and to make
recommendations to the National Council on the Arts in all cases
except cases in which the Chairperson exercises authority delegated
under section 955(f) of this title. When reviewing applications,
such panels shall recommend applications for projects, productions,
and workshops solely on the basis of artistic excellence and
artistic merit. The Chairperson shall issue regulations and
establish procedures -
(1) to ensure that all panels are composed, to the extent
practicable, of individuals reflecting a wide geographic, ethnic,
and minority representation as well as individuals reflecting
diverse artistic and cultural points of view;
(2) to ensure that all panels include representation of lay
individuals who are knowledgeable about the arts but who are not
engaged in the arts as a profession and are not members of either
artists' organizations or arts organizations;
(3) to ensure that, when feasible, the procedures used by
panels to carry out their responsibilities are standardized;
(4) to require panels -
(A) to create written records summarizing -
(i) all meetings and discussions of such panel; and
(ii) the recommendations made by such panel to the Council;
and
(B) to make such records available to the public in a manner
that protects the privacy of individual applicants and panel
members;
(5) to require, when necessary and feasible, the use of site
visitations to view the work of the applicant and deliver a
written report on the work being reviewed, in order to assist
panelists in making their recommendations; and
(6) to require that the membership of each panel change
substantially from year to year and to provide that each
individual is ineligible to serve on a panel for more than 3
consecutive years.
In making appointments to panels, the Chairperson shall ensure that
an individual who has a pending application for financial
assistance under this subchapter, or who is an employee or agent of
an organization with a pending application, does not serve as a
member of any panel before which such application is pending. The
prohibition described in the preceding sentence shall commence with
respect to such individual beginning on the date such application
is submitted and shall continue for so long as such application is
pending.
(d) Endowment activities reports
The Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts and the
Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities shall each
submit an annual report to the President for transmittal to the
Congress on or before the 15th day of April of each year. The
report shall summarize the activities of the Endowment for the
preceding year, and may include such recommendations as the
Chairperson deems appropriate.
(e) Council activities reports
The National Council on the Arts and the National Council on the
Humanities, respectively, may each submit an annual report to the
President for transmittal to the Congress on or before the 15th day
of April of each year setting forth a summary of its activities
during the preceding year or its recommendations for any measures
which it considers necessary or desirable.
(f) Post-award evaluation of assisted projects, productions, and
programs; reports; extension of time for compliance; failure to
satisfy purposes of assistance
(1) The Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts and
the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities shall
conduct a post-award evaluation of projects, productions, and
programs for which financial assistance is provided by their
respective Endowments under sections 954(c) and 956(c) of this
title. Such evaluation may include an audit to determine the
accuracy of the reports required to be submitted by recipients
under clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (2)(A). As a condition of
receiving such financial assistance, a recipient shall comply with
the requirements specified in paragraph (2) that are applicable to
the project, production, or program for which such financial
assistance is received.
(2)(A) The recipient of financial assistance provided by either
of the Endowments shall submit to the Chairperson of the Endowment
involved -
(i) a financial report containing such information as the
Chairperson deems necessary to ensure that such financial
assistance is expended in accordance with the terms and
conditions under which it is provided;
(ii) a report describing the project, production, or program
carried out with such financial assistance; and
(iii) if practicable, as determined by the Chairperson, a copy
of such project, production, or program.
(B) Such recipient shall comply with the requirements of this
paragraph not later than 90 days after the end of the period for
which such financial assistance is provided. The Chairperson may
extend the 90-day period only if the recipient shows good cause why
such an extension should be granted.
(3) If such recipient substantially fails to satisfy the purposes
for which such financial assistance is provided and the criteria
specified in subsection (c)(3)(A) (!1) of this section, as
determined by the Chairperson of the Endowment that provided such
financial assistance, then such Chairperson may -
(A) for purposes of determining whether to provide any
subsequent financial assistance, take into consideration the
results of the post-award evaluation conducted under this
subsection;
(B) prohibit the recipient of such financial assistance to use
the name of, or in any way associate such project, production, or
program with the Endowment that provided such financial
assistance; and
(C) if such project, production, or program is published,
require that the publication contain the following statement:
"The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations
expressed herein do not reflect the views of the National
Endowment for the Arts or the National Endowment for the
Humanities."