20 U.S.C. § 80t–2 — Council

(a) Establishment: The law creates a council within the Smithsonian Institution to carry out the duties in subsection (b) and elsewhere in this subchapter (referred to in this section as "the 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 relating to running, operating, maintaining, and preserving the Museum; (C) recommend annual operating budgets for the Museum; (D) report yearly on acquiring, disposing of, and displaying objects related to women's art, history, and culture; and (E) adopt bylaws for the Council. (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) women's life, art, history, and culture; (ii) women's role in U.S. history; and (iii) women's contributions to society. (3) Other responsibilities: 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. (4) Ensuring diverse political viewpoints: The Council must make sure, as far as practical, that the Museum's exhibits and programs equally represent the diversity of political viewpoints held by women in the United States on events and issues in women's history. (c) Composition and appointment: (1) The Council has 25 voting members. (2) These are: (A) one member appointed by the Senate majority leader; (B) one appointed by the Senate minority leader; (C) one appointed by the Speaker of the House; (D) one appointed by the House minority leader; (E) the Secretary of the Smithsonian; (F) one Board of Regents member, appointed by the Board of Regents; and (G) 19 individuals appointed by the Board of Regents, giving special consideration to (i) members of the Congressional Commission, (ii) board members of the National Women's History Museum (a nonprofit incorporated in 1996 in D.C. that is dedicated to establishing a women's history museum), and (iii) scholars and representatives of organizations committed to studying women's history. (3) The Board of Regents had to make its first appointments within 180 days after December 27, 2020. (d) Terms: (1) Each appointed member normally serves a 3-year term. (2) For the first group appointed under (c)(2)(G), the Board designated: (A) 7 members for 1-year terms; (B) 6 members for 2-year terms; and (C) 6 members for 3-year terms. (3) A member may be reappointed, but no one may serve more than 2 total terms, not counting a partial term served after filling a vacancy. (4) (A) A vacancy does not affect the Council's powers and is filled the same way as the original appointment. (B) Someone filling 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 per diem, at rates 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 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, though a smaller number may still receive information on the Council's behalf.