USC Chapter 1517

in effect

36 U.S.C. § 151701 Organization

(a) Federal Charter.—National Film Preservation Foundation (in this chapter, the “corporation”) is a federally chartered corporation. (b) Nature of Corporation.—The corporation is a charitable and nonprofit corporation and is not an agency or establishment of the United States Government. (c) Perpetual Existence.—Except as otherwise provided, the corporation has perpetual existence.

36 U.S.C. § 151702 Purposes

The purposes of the corporation are to— (1) encourage, accept, and administer private gifts to promote and ensure the preservation and public accessibility of the nation’s film heritage held at the Library of Congress and other public and nonprofit archives throughout the United States and the repatriation of American films from foreign archives; (2) further the goals of the Library of Congress and the National Film Preservation Board in connection with their activities under the National Film Preservation Act of 1996 (2 U.S.C. 179l–179w); and (3) conduct activities, alone or in cooperation with other film related institutions and organizations, to further the preservation and public accessibility of films made in the United States, particularly films not protected by private interests, for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.

36 U.S.C. § 151703 Board of directors

(a) General.—The board of directors is the governing body of the corporation. (b) Members and Appointment.—(1) The Librarian of Congress is an ex officio nonvoting member of the board. The Librarian appoints the directors to the board. (2)(A) The board consists of 12 directors. (B) Each director must be a United States citizen. (C) At least six directors must be knowledgeable or experienced in film production, distribution, preservation, or restoration, including two who are sitting members of the National Film Preservation Board. These six directors must, to the extent practicable, represent diverse points of view from the film community, including motion picture producers, creative artists, nonprofit and public archivists, historians, film critics, theater owners, and laboratory and university personnel. (3) A director is not an employee of the Library of Congress and appointment to the board does not constitute appointment as an officer or employee of the United States Government for the purpose of any law of the United States. (4) The terms of office of the directors are 4 years. There shall be no limit to the number of terms to which any individual may be appointed. (5) A vacancy on the board shall be filled within 120 days in the manner in which the original appointment was made. (c) Chair.—The Librarian shall appoint one of the directors as the initial chair of the board for a 2-year term. Thereafter, the chair shall be appointed and removed in accordance with the bylaws of the corporation. (d) Quorum.—A majority of the current membership of the board is a quorum. (e) Meetings.—The board shall meet at the call of the Librarian or the chair at least once each year. If a director misses three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings, the director may be removed from the board by the Librarian and that vacancy may be filled as provided in subsection (b) of this section. (f) Compensation and Reimbursement.—Directors serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for actual and necessary travel and subsistence expenses incurred in performing duties for the corporation. (g) Liability of Directors.—Directors are not personally liable, except for gross negligence.

36 U.S.C. § 151704 Officers and employees

(a) Secretary of the Board.—(1) The Librarian of Congress shall appoint a Secretary of the Board to serve as executive director of the corporation. The Librarian may remove the Secretary. (2) The Secretary must be knowledgeable and experienced in matters relating to—(A) film preservation and restoration activities; (B) financial management; and (C) fundraising. (b) Appointment of Officers.—Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the board of directors appoints, removes, and replaces officers of the corporation. (c) Appointment of Employees.—Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary appoints, removes, and replaces employees of the corporation. (d) Status and Compensation of Employees.—Employees of the corporation (including the Secretary)—(1) are not employees of the Library of Congress; (2) shall be appointed and removed without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service; and (3) may be paid without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, except that an employee may not be paid more than the annual rate of basic pay for level GS–15 of the General Schedule under section 5107 of title 5.

36 U.S.C. § 151705 Powers

(a) General.—The corporation may—(1) adopt a constitution and bylaws; (2) adopt a seal which shall be judicially noticed; and (3) do any other act necessary to carry out this chapter. (b) Powers as Trustee.—To carry out its purposes, the corporation has the usual powers of a corporation acting as a trustee in the jurisdiction in which the principal office of the corporation is located, including the power—(1) to accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use any gift, devise, or bequest, either absolutely or in trust, of property or any income from or other interest in property; (2) to acquire property or an interest in property by purchase or exchange; (3) unless otherwise required by an instrument of transfer, to sell, donate, lease, invest, or otherwise dispose of any property or income from property; (4) to borrow money and issue instruments of indebtedness; (5) to make contracts and other arrangements with public agencies and private organizations and persons and to make payments necessary to carry out its functions; (6) to sue and be sued; and (7) to do any other act necessary and proper to carry out the purposes of the corporation. (c) Encumbered or Restricted Gifts.—A gift, devise, or bequest may be accepted by the corporation even though it is encumbered, restricted, or subject to beneficial interests of private persons, if any current or future interest is for the benefit of the corporation.

36 U.S.C. § 151706 Principal office

The principal office of the corporation shall be in the District of Columbia, or another place as determined by the board of directors. However, the corporation may conduct business throughout the States, territories, and possessions of the United States.

36 U.S.C. § 151707 Provision and acceptance of support by Librarian of Congress

(a) Provision by Librarian.—(1) The Librarian of Congress may provide personnel, facilities, and other administrative services to the corporation. Administrative services may include reimbursement of expenses under section 151703(f) of this title, at rates not exceeding the applicable per diem rates for the United States Government. (2) The corporation shall reimburse the Librarian for support provided under paragraph (1) of this subsection. Amounts reimbursed shall be deposited in the Treasury to the credit of the appropriations then current and chargeable for the cost of providing the support. (b) Acceptance by Librarian.—The Librarian may accept, without regard to chapters 33 and 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5 and related regulations, the services of the corporation and its directors, officers, and employees as volunteers in performing functions authorized under this chapter, without compensation from the Library of Congress.

36 U.S.C. § 151708 Service of process

The corporation shall have a designated agent to receive service of process for the corporation. Notice to or service on the agent, or mailed to the business address of the agent, is notice to or service on the corporation.

36 U.S.C. § 151709 Civil action by Attorney General for equitable relief

The Attorney General may bring a civil action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for appropriate equitable relief if the corporation— (1) engages or threatens to engage in any act, practice, or policy that is inconsistent with the purposes in section 151702 of this title; or (2) refuses, fails, or neglects to carry out its obligations under this chapter or threatens to do so.

36 U.S.C. § 151710 Immunity of United States Government

The United States Government is not liable for any debts, defaults, acts, or omissions of the corporation. The full faith and credit of the Government does not extend to any obligation of the corporation.

36 U.S.C. § 151711 Authorization of appropriations

(a) Authorization of Appropriations.—(1) In general.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Library of Congress amounts necessary to carry out this chapter, not to exceed—(A) $530,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 2009; (B) $750,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2011; and (C) $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2012 through 2026. (2) Matching.—The amounts authorized to be appropriated under this subsection are to be made available to the corporation to match any private contributions (whether in currency, services, or property) made to the corporation by private persons and State and local governments. (b) Limitation Related to Administrative Expenses.—Amounts authorized under this section may not be used by the corporation for management and general or fundraising expenses as reported to the Internal Revenue Service as part of an annual information return required under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

36 U.S.C. § 151712 Annual report

As soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year, the corporation shall submit a report to Congress on the activities of the corporation during the prior fiscal year, including a complete statement of its receipts, expenditures, and investments.