[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1785 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1785

To prohibit the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from charging 
   a fee for admission to any exhibit which is part of the permanent 
   collection of any museum or facility which is part of any bureau 
  established in or under the Smithsonian Institution, and for other 
                               purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 2011

  Ms. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                   Committee on House Administration

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                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from charging 
   a fee for admission to any exhibit which is part of the permanent 
   collection of any museum or facility which is part of any bureau 
  established in or under the Smithsonian Institution, 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. PROHIBITING CHARGING OF FEES FOR ADMISSION TO PERMANENT 
              COLLECTIONS OF SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS OR FACILITIES.

    (a) Prohibition.--Except as provided in subsections (a) and (b), 
the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution may not charge a fee for 
admission to any exhibit which is part of the permanent collection of 
any museum or facility which is part of any bureau established in or 
under the Smithsonian Institution, including the National Gallery of 
Art.
    (b) Exception for Necessary and Unavoidable Fees.--The Secretary of 
the Smithsonian Institution may charge a fee for admission to an 
exhibit described in subsection (a) if--
            (1) the Secretary determines that charging a fee for 
        admission to the exhibit is necessary and unavoidable;
            (2) the Secretary submits a statement explaining the 
        determination to the Committee on House Administration of the 
        House of Representatives, the Committee on Transportation and 
        Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee 
        on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the 
        Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate; and
            (3) the charging of the fee does not take effect until 
        after the expiration of the 45-day period which begins on the 
        date the Secretary submits the statement under paragraph (1).
    (c) Exception for Certain Current Exhibit.--This section does not 
apply to the exhibit entitled ``Butterfly Pavilion'' at the National 
Museum of Natural History.

SEC. 2. PLAN FOR ELIMINATION OF FEE FOR CURRENT EXHIBIT.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution shall submit to the 
Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 
Senate, and the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate a 
plan for eliminating the admission fee for the exhibit entitled 
``Butterfly Pavilion'' at the National Museum of Natural History, and 
shall include in the plan such steps as the Secretary considers 
appropriate to cover the expenses incurred in carrying out the exhibit.
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