Bill Summary
The "Smithsonian Modernization Act of 2022" is a bill that aims to change the composition of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Currently, the Board is made up of 17 members appointed by the President and 3 citizen regents appointed by Congress. This bill proposes that all members of the Board be appointed by the President from a list of nominees submitted by the leadership of Congress. It also includes amendments to the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act, making them applicable to the Smithsonian Institution. These changes will take effect on the date of the enactment of the bill and will apply to all records and meetings, both before and after the bill's enactment.
Possible Impacts
1. This legislation would potentially impact the composition of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, as all members would now be appointed by the President from a list of nominees submitted by the leadership of Congress. This could potentially lead to a more politically influenced board and could change the direction and decision-making processes of the institution.
2. The amendments to the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act would affect how the Smithsonian Institution handles requests for information and protects the privacy of individuals. This could impact the public's access to information and the transparency of the institution's operations.
3. The provision for a uniform term of service for Regents could limit the potential diversity and fresh perspectives on the board, as some members may serve for multiple terms. This could potentially limit the diversity of ideas and perspectives within the board.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9363 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9363
To revise the composition of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution so that all members are individuals appointed by the
President from a list of nominees submitted by the leadership of the
Congress, to amend the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act
to apply the requirements of such Acts to the Smithsonian Institution,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 29, 2022
Mr. Sempolinski introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee
on Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To revise the composition of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution so that all members are individuals appointed by the
President from a list of nominees submitted by the leadership of the
Congress, to amend the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act
to apply the requirements of such Acts to 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Smithsonian Modernization Act of
2022''.
SEC. 2. APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS OF SMITHSONIAN BOARD OF REGENTS.
(a) Number of Members; Appointment of All Members From List of
Nominees.--
(1) In general.--Section 5580(a) of the Revised Statutes of
the United States (20 U.S.C. 42(a)) is amended by striking ``to
be composed of'' and all that follows and inserting the
following: ``to be composed of 21 members appointed by the
President from among the list of nominees submitted under
subsection (b), of whom 2 shall be residents of the District of
Columbia.''.
(2) List of nominees.--Section 5580 of the Revised Statutes
of the United States (20 U.S.C. 42(a)) is amended--
(A) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection
(c); and
(B) by inserting after subsection (a) the following
new subsection:
``(b) The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Majority
Leader of the Senate shall each submit to the President a list of 12
nominees for appointment as members of the Board of Regents.''.
(3) Revision of quorum.--Section 5582 of the Revised
Statutes of the United States (20 U.S.C. 44) is amended by
striking ``eight shall constitute a quorum'' and inserting ``17
shall constitute a quorum''.
(4) No effect on current citizen regents.--Nothing in the
amendments made by this subsection may be construed to affect
the authority of any individual who serves as a Regent of the
Smithsonian Institution as of the date of the enactment of this
Act pursuant to a joint resolution of the Congress to continue
to serve as a Regent after that date.
(b) Uniform Term of Service.--Section 5581 of the Revised Statutes
of the United States (20 U.S.C. 43) is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 5581. (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c),
each Regent of the Smithsonian Institution shall be appointed for a
term of 6 years, and may be reappointed for additional terms.
``(b) Of the Regents who are appointed after the date of the
enactment of the Smithsonian Modernization Act of 2022 who were not
serving as Regents prior to that date--
``(1) 4 shall be appointed for a term of 2 years (as
designated in the joint resolution under which they are
appointed) and may be reappointed for additional terms of 6
years; and
``(2) 4 shall be appointed for a term of 4 years (as
designated in the joint resolution under which they are
appointed) and may be reappointed for additional terms of 6
years.
``(c) Any Regent appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the
expiration of the term for which the Regent's predecessor was appointed
shall be appointed only for the remainder of that term. A Regent may
serve after the expiration of that Regent's term until a successor has
taken office.''.
SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF OPEN GOVERNMENT LAWS TO SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
(a) Freedom of Information Act.--Section 552 of title 5, United
States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act) is
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(n) For purposes of this section, the Smithsonian Institution
shall be considered an agency, and the Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution shall be considered the head of the agency.''.
(b) Privacy Act.--Section 552a(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code
(commonly referred to as the Privacy Act), is amended by striking the
semicolon at the end and inserting ``, except that such term also
includes the Smithsonian Institution;''.
(c) Requiring Open Meetings.--Section 552b(a)(1) of title 5, United
States Code (relating to open meetings) is amended by striking the
semicolon at the end and inserting ``, except that such term also
includes the Smithsonian Institution;''.
(d) Effective Date and Application.--
(1) Effective date.--This section and the amendments made
by this section shall take effect on the date of enactment of
this Act.
(2) Application.--
(A) Freedom of information act; privacy act.--
Subsections (a) and (b) and the amendments made by such
subsections shall apply to any record created before,
on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(B) Open meetings.--Subsection (c) and the
amendments made by such subsection shall apply to any
meeting held on or after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
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