AUTHORITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR RELATING TO MUSEUMS.

SEC. 804. AUTHORITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR RELATING TO MUSEUMS. (a) Functions.—The Act entitled “An Act to increase the public benefits from the National Park System by facilitating the management of museum properties relating thereto, and for other purposes” approved July 1, 1955 (16 U.S.C. 18f), is amended— (1) in subsection (b) of the first section, by striking out “from such donations and bequests of money”; and (2) by adding at the end thereof the following: “SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS. “(a) Museum Objects and Collections.—In addition to the functions specified in the first section of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior may perform the following functions in such manner as he shall consider to be in the public interest: “(1) Transfer museum objects and museum collections that the Secretary determines are no longer needed for museum purposes to qualified Federal agencies, including the Smithsonian Institution, that have programs to preserve and interpret cultural or natural heritage, and accept the transfer of museum objects and museum collections for the purposes of this Act from any other Federal agency, without reimbursement. The head of any other Federal agency may transfer, without reimbursement, museum objects and museum collections directly to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior for the purpose of this Act. “(2) Convey museum objects and museum collections that the Secretary determines are no longer needed for museum purposes, without monetary consideration but subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems necessary, to private institutions exempt from Federal taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and to non-Federal governmental entities if the Secretary determines that the recipient is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of natural or cultural heritage and is qualified to manage the property, prior to any conveyance under this subsection. “(3) Destroy or cause to be destroyed museum objects and museum collections that the Secretary determines to have no scientific, cultural, historic, educational, esthetic, or monetary value. 110 STAT. 4188 “(b) Review and Approval.—The Secretary shall ensure that museum collections are treated in a careful and deliberate manner that protects the public interest. Prior to taking any action under subsection (a), the Secretary shall establish a systematic review and approval process, including consultation with appropriate experts, that meets the highest standards of the museum profession for all actions taken under this section.”. (b) Application and Definitions.—The Act entitled “An Act to increase the public benefits from the National Park System by facilitating the management of museum properties relating thereto, and for other purposes” approved July 1, 1955 (16 U.S.C. 18f), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended by adding the following after section 2: “SEC. 3. APPLICATION AND DEFINITIONS. “(a) Application.—Authorities in this Act shall be available to the Secretary of the Interior with regard to museum objects and museum collections that were under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for the purposes of the National Park System before the date of enactment of this section as well as those museum objects and museum collections that may be acquired on or after such date. “(b) Definition.—For the purposes of this Act, the terms ‘museum objects’ and ‘museum collections’ mean objects that are eligible to be or are made part of a museum, library, or archive collection through a formal procedure, such as accessioning. Such objects are usually movable and include but are not limited to prehistoric and historic artifacts, works of art, books, documents, photographs, and natural history specimens.”.