20 U.S.C. § 80r–3 — Council

(a) Establishment: The law creates a council within the Smithsonian Institution, called the "National Museum of African American History and Culture Council." (b) Duties: (1) In general, the Council must: (A) recommend to the Board of Regents on planning, designing, and constructing the Museum; (B) advise and help the Board of Regents on everything about running, operating, maintaining, and preserving the Museum; (C) recommend the Museum's annual operating budgets to the Board of Regents; (D) report yearly to the Board of Regents on acquiring, disposing of, and displaying objects related to African American life, art, history, and culture; and (E) adopt its own bylaws. (2) Principal responsibilities: Subject to the Board of Regents' general policies, only the Council may: (A) purchase, accept, borrow, or otherwise acquire artifacts for the Museum's collections; (B) loan, exchange, sell, or otherwise dispose of collection items, but only if the proceeds go toward adding to the collections; or (C) set criteria for using the Museum's collections and resources, including policies on programming, education, exhibits, and research about (i) African Americans' life, art, history, and culture; (ii) African Americans' role in U.S. history from slavery to the present; and (iii) African Americans' contributions to society. (3) Other responsibilities: Subject to the Board of Regents' general policies, the Council also may: (A) provide for preserving, restoring, and maintaining the collections; and (B) solicit, accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, and devises of personal property to help the Museum's work. (c) Composition and appointment: (1) The Council has 19 voting members. (2) These voting members are: (A) the Secretary of the Smithsonian; (B) one Board of Regents member, appointed by the Board of Regents; and (C) 17 individuals appointed by the Board of Regents, giving consideration to (i) people recommended by organizations committed to advancing knowledge of African American life, art, history, and culture, and (ii) people recommended by current Council members. (3) The Board of Regents had to make its first appointments within 180 days after December 16, 2003. (d) Terms: (1) Each appointed member normally serves a 3-year term. (2) For the first group appointed under (c)(2)(C), the Board of Regents designated: (A) six members for 1-year terms; (B) six members for 2-year terms; and (C) five members for 3-year terms. (3) A member may be reappointed, but no one may serve more than 2 total terms — not counting any partial term served after being appointed to fill a vacancy. (4) (A) A vacancy does not affect the Council's powers and is filled the same way the original appointment was made. (B) Someone appointed to fill a vacancy serves only the rest of that unexpired term. (e) Compensation: (1) Council members generally serve without pay. (2) They are allowed travel expenses, including a per diem instead of reimbursing actual living costs, at the rate set for federal employees, while away from home doing Council business. (f) Chairperson: A majority vote of voting members elects a chairperson from among the Council's members. (g) Meetings: (1) The Council meets when the chairperson calls a meeting, or when a majority of voting members request one in writing — but at least twice a year. (2) During the first year after the Council's first meeting, it must meet at least 4 times to carry out its duties. (h) Quorum: A majority of the Council's current voting members makes a quorum to conduct business, though a smaller number may still receive information on the Council's behalf.