§ 959. Administrative provisions

(a) General authority of Chairpersons

In addition to any authorities vested in them by other provisions of this subchapter, the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities, in carrying out their respective functions, shall each have authority—

(1) to prescribe such regulations as the Chairperson deems necessary governing the manner in which the Chairperson’s functions shall be carried out;

(2) in the discretion of the Chairperson of an Endowment, after receiving the recommendation of the National Council of that Endowment, to receive money and other property donated, bequeathed, or devised to that Endowment with or without a condition or restriction, including a condition that the Chairperson use other funds of that Endowment for the purposes of the gift, except that a Chairperson may receive a gift without a recommendation from the Council to provide support for any application or project which can be approved without Council recommendation under the provisions of sections 955 (f) and 957 (f) of this title, and may receive a gift of $15,000, or less, without Council recommendation in the event the Council fails to provide such recommendation within a reasonable period of time, and to use, sell, or otherwise dispose of such property for the purpose of carrying out sections 954 (c) and 956 (c) of this title;

(3) to appoint employees, subject to the civil service laws, as necessary to carry out the Chairperson’s functions, define their duties, and supervise and direct their activities;

(4) to utilize experts and consultants, including panels of experts, who may be employed as authorized by section 3109 of title 5;

(5) to accept and utilize the services of voluntary and uncompensated personnel and reimburse them for travel expenses, including per diem, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5 for persons in the Government service employed without compensation;

(6) to make advance, progress, and other payments without regard to section 3324 of title 31;

(7) to rent office space in the District of Columbia; and

(8) to make other necessary expenditures.

(b) Rules for distribution of donations, bequests, and devises; gifts with or without conditions; transfers for tax purposes

(1) In any case in which any money or other property is donated, bequeathed, or devised to the Foundation without designation of the Endowment for the benefit of which such property is intended, and without condition or restriction other than that it be used for the purposes of the Foundation, such property shall be deemed to have been donated, bequeathed, or devised in equal shares to each Endowment and each Chairperson of an Endowment shall have authority to receive such property.

(2) In any case in which any money or other property is donated, bequeathed, or devised to the Foundation with a condition or restriction, such property shall be deemed to have been donated, bequeathed, or devised to that Endowment whose function it is to carry out the purpose or purposes described or referred to by the terms of such condition or restriction, and each Chairperson of an Endowment shall have authority to receive such property.

(3) For the purposes of the preceding sentence, if one or more of the purposes of such a condition or restriction is covered by the functions of both Endowments, or if some of the purposes of such a condition or restriction are covered by the functions of one Endowment and other of the purposes of such a condition or restriction are covered by the functions of the other Endowment, the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities shall determine an equitable manner for distribution between each of the Endowments of the property so donated, bequeathed, or devised.

(4) For the purposes of the income tax, gift tax, and estate tax laws of the United States, any money or other property donated, bequeathed, or devised to the Foundation or one of its Endowments and received by the Chairperson of an Endowment pursuant to authority derived under this subsection shall be deemed to have been donated, bequeathed, or devised to or for the use of the United States.

The Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts shall utilize advisory panels to review applications, and to make recommendations to the National Council on the Arts in all cases except cases in which the Chairperson exercises authority delegated under section 955 (f) of this title. When reviewing applications, such panels shall recommend applications for projects, productions, and workshops solely on the basis of artistic excellence and artistic merit. The Chairperson shall issue regulations and establish procedures—

(1) to ensure that all panels are composed, to the extent practicable, of individuals reflecting a wide geographic, ethnic, and minority representation as well as individuals reflecting diverse artistic and cultural points of view;

(2) to ensure that all panels include representation of lay individuals who are knowledgeable about the arts but who are not engaged in the arts as a profession and are not members of either artists’ organizations or arts organizations;

(3) to ensure that, when feasible, the procedures used by panels to carry out their responsibilities are standardized;

(4) to require panels—

(A) to create written records summarizing—

(i) all meetings and discussions of such panel; and

(ii) the recommendations made by such panel to the Council; and

(B) to make such records available to the public in a manner that protects the privacy of individual applicants and panel members;

(5) to require, when necessary and feasible, the use of site visitations to view the work of the applicant and deliver a written report on the work being reviewed, in order to assist panelists in making their recommendations; and

(6) to require that the membership of each panel change substantially from year to year and to provide that each individual is ineligible to serve on a panel for more than 3 consecutive years.

In making appointments to panels, the Chairperson shall ensure that an individual who has a pending application for financial assistance under this subchapter, or who is an employee or agent of an organization with a pending application, does not serve as a member of any panel before which such application is pending. The prohibition described in the preceding sentence shall commence with respect to such individual beginning on the date such application is submitted and shall continue for so long as such application is pending.

(d) Endowment activities reports

The Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities shall each submit an annual report to the President for transmittal to the Congress on or before the 15th day of April of each year. The report shall summarize the activities of the Endowment for the preceding year, and may include such recommendations as the Chairperson deems appropriate.

(e) Council activities reports

The National Council on the Arts and the National Council on the Humanities, respectively, may each submit an annual report to the President for transmittal to the Congress on or before the 15th day of April of each year setting forth a summary of its activities during the preceding year or its recommendations for any measures which it considers necessary or desirable.

(f) Post-award evaluation of assisted projects, productions, and programs; reports; extension of time for compliance; failure to satisfy purposes of assistance

(1) The Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities shall conduct a post-award evaluation of projects, productions, and programs for which financial assistance is provided by their respective Endowments under sections 954 (c) and 956 (c) of this title. Such evaluation may include an audit to determine the accuracy of the reports required to be submitted by recipients under clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (2)(A). As a condition of receiving such financial assistance, a recipient shall comply with the requirements specified in paragraph (2) that are applicable to the project, production, or program for which such financial assistance is received.

(2)

(A) The recipient of financial assistance provided by either of the Endowments shall submit to the Chairperson of the Endowment involved—

(i) a financial report containing such information as the Chairperson deems necessary to ensure that such financial assistance is expended in accordance with the terms and conditions under which it is provided;

(ii) a report describing the project, production, or program carried out with such financial assistance; and

(iii) if practicable, as determined by the Chairperson, a copy of such project, production, or program.

(B) Such recipient shall comply with the requirements of this paragraph not later than 90 days after the end of the period for which such financial assistance is provided. The Chairperson may extend the 90-day period only if the recipient shows good cause why such an extension should be granted.

(3) If such recipient substantially fails to satisfy the purposes for which such financial assistance is provided and the criteria specified in subsection (c)(3)(A) ^[1] of this section, as determined by the Chairperson of the Endowment that provided such financial assistance, then such Chairperson may—

(A) for purposes of determining whether to provide any subsequent financial assistance, take into consideration the results of the post-award evaluation conducted under this subsection;

(B) prohibit the recipient of such financial assistance to use the name of, or in any way associate such project, production, or program with the Endowment that provided such financial assistance; and

(C) if such project, production, or program is published, require that the publication contain the following statement: “The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed herein do not reflect the views of the National Endowment for the Arts or the National Endowment for the Humanities.”

[1] So in original. Subsec. (c)(3) of this section does not contain a subpar. (A).

U.S. Code

§ 959. Administrative provisions