[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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