Presidential Libraries Act of 1986
The Presidential Libraries Act of 1986 made significant changes to Presidential Libraries, requiring private endowments linked to the size of the facility.
- The National Archives uses these endowments to offset a portion of the maintenance costs for the library.
The Presidential Libraries Act of 1986
PUBLIC LAW 99-323,
H.R. 1349,
Ninety-ninth Congress of the United States of America,
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, the twenty-first day of January,
one thousand nine hundred and eighty-six
An Act
To reduce the costs of operating Presidential libraries, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the
"Presidential Libraries Act of 1986."
RESEARCH AND MUSEUM FACILITIES
SEC. 2. Section 2102(1) of title 44, United States Code, is amended by
inserting before the semicolon a comma and "and may include research
facilities and museum facilities in accordance with this chapter."
PRESIDENTIAL ARCHIVAL DEPOSITORIES
SEC. 3 (a) Section 2112(a) of title 44, United States Code, is amended to
read as follows:
"(a)(1) When the Archivist considers it to be in the public interest, the
Archivist may-
"(A)(i) accept, for and in the name of the United States, land, a
facility, and equipment offered as a gift to the United States for the
purpose of creating a Presidential archival depository;
"(ii) take title to the land, facility, and equipment on behalf of the
United States; and
"(iii) maintain, operate, and protect the land, facility, and equipment
as a Presidential archival depository and as part of the national
archives system;
"(B)(i) make agreements, upon terms and conditions the Archivist
considers proper, with a State, political subdivision, university,
institution of higher learning, institute, or foundation to use as a
Presidential archival depository land, a facility, organization, to be
made available by it without transfer of title to the United States; and
"(ii) maintain, operate, and protect the depository as a part of the
national archives system; and
"(C) accept, for and in the name of the United States, gifts offered
for the purpose of making any physical or material change or addition
to a Presidential archival depository.
"(2) The Archivist shall promulgate architectural and design standards
applicable to Presidential archival depositories in order to ensure that such
depositories (A) preserve Presidential records subject to chapter 22 of this title
and papers and other historical materials accepted for deposit under section
2111 of this title and (B) contain adequate research facilities.
Presidential Libraries Act of 1986
"(3) Prior to accepting and taking title to any land, facility, or equipment
under subparagraph (B) of such paragraph or any other agreement to accept or
establish a Presidential archival depository, the Archivist shall submit a written
report on the proposed Presidential archival depository to the President of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report shall
include-
"(A) a description of the land, facility, and equipment offered as a
gift or to be made available without transfer of title;
"(B) a statement specifying the estimated total cost of the proposed
depository and the amount of the endowment for the depository
required pursuant to subsection (g) of this section;
"(C) a statement of the terms of the proposed agreement, if any;
"(D) a general description of the types of papers, documents, or
other historical materials proposed to be deposited in the depository to
be created, and of the terms of the proposed deposit;
"(E) a statement of any additional improvements and equipment
associated with the development and operation of the depository, an
estimate of the costs of such improvements and equipment, and a
statement as to the extent to which such costs will be incurred by any
Federal or State government agency;
"(F) an estimate of the total annual cost to the United States of
maintaining, operating, and protecting the depository; and
"(G) a certification that such facility and equipment (whether offered
as a gift or made available without transfer of title) comply with
standards promulgated by the Archivist pursuant to paragraph (2) of
this subsection.
"(4) Prior to accepting any gift under subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) for
the purpose of making any physical or material change or addition to a
Presidential archival depository, or prior to implementing any provision of law
requiring the making of such a change or addition, the Archivist shall submit a
report in writing on the proposed change or addition to the president of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report shall
include-
"(A) a description of such gift;
"(B) a statement specifying the estimated total cost of the proposed
physical or material change or addition and the amount of the deposit
in an endowment for the depository required pursuant to subsection (g)
of this section in order to meet the cost of such change or addition;
"(C) a statement of the purpose of the proposed change or addition
and a general description of any papers, documents, or historical
materials proposed to be deposited in the depository as a result of such
change or addition;
"(D) a statement of any additional improvements or equipment for
the depository associated with such change or addition;
"(E) an estimate of the increase in the total annual cost to the United
States of maintaining, operating, and protecting the depository that will
result from such change or addition; and
"(F) a certification that the depository, and the equipment therein
will, after such change or addition, comply with the standards
promulgated by the Archivist pursuant to paragraph (2) of this
subsection.
"(5) The Archivist may not-
"(A) accept land or title to land, a facility, or equipment under
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for the purpose of creating a
Presidential archival depository;
"(B) enter into any agreement under subparagraph (B) of such
paragraph or any other agreement to accept or establish a Presidential
archival depository; or
"(C) accept any gift under subparagraph (C) of such paragraph for
the purpose of making any physical or material change to a Presidential
archival depository, until the expiration of a period of 60 days of continuous session of Congress
beginning on the date on which the Archivist transmits the report required
under paragraph (3) of this subsection with respect to such Presidential archival
depository or the report required under paragraph (4) of this subsection with
respect to such change or addition, as the case may be."
(b) Section 2112(g) of title 44, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(g)(1) When the Archivist considers it to be in the public interest, the
Archivist may solicit and accept gifts or bequests of money or other property
for the purpose of maintaining, operating, protecting, or improving a
Presidential archival depository. The proceeds of gifts or bequests, together
with the proceeds from fees or from sales of historical materials, copies or
reproductions, catalogs, or other items, having to do with a Presidential
archival depository, shall be paid into an account in the National Archives
Trust Fund and shall be held, administered, and expended for the benefit and
in the interest of the Presidential archival depository in connection with which
they were received, and for the same purposes and objects, including custodial
and administrative services for which appropriations for the maintenance,
operation, protection, or improvement of Presidential archival depositories
might be expended.
"(2) The Archivist shall provide for the establishment in such Trust Fund of
separate endowments for the maintenance of the land, facility, and equipment
of each Presidential archival depository, to which shall be credited any gifts or
bequests received under paragraph (1) that are offered for that purpose.
Income to each such endowment shall be available to cover the cost of facility
operations, but shall not be available for the performance of archival functions
under this title.
"(3) The Archivist shall not accept or take title to any land, facility, or
equipment under subparagraph (A) of subsection (a)(1), or enter into any
agreement to use any land, facility, or equipment under subparagraph (B) of
such subsection for the purpose of creating a Presidential archival depository,
unless the Archivist determines that there is available, by gift or bequest for
deposit under paragraph (2) of this subsection in an endowment with respect to
such depository, an amount for the purpose of maintaining such land, facility,
and equipment equal to-
"(A) the product of-
"(i) the total cost of acquiring or constructing such facility
and of acquiring and installing such equipment, multiplied by
"(ii) 20 percent; plus
"(B)(i) if title to the land is to be vested in the United States, the
product of-
"(I) the total cost of acquiring the land upon which
such facility is located, or such other measure of the
value of such land as is mutually agreed upon by the
Archivist and the donor, multiplied by
"(II) 20 percent; or
"(ii) if title to the land is not to be vested in the United
States, the product of-
"(I) the total cost to the donor of any improvements
to the land upon which such facility is located (other
than such facility and equipment) multiplied by
"(II) 20 percent; plus
"(C) if the Presidential archival depository will exceed 70,000 square
feet in area, an amount equal to the product of-
"(i) the sum of-
"(I) the total cost described in clause (i) of
subparagraph (A); plus
"(II) the total cost described in subclause (I) or (II) of
subparagraph (B)(i), as the case may be, multiplied by
"(ii) the percentage obtained by dividing the number of
square feet by which such depository will exceed 70,000
square feet by 70,000.
"(4) If a proposed physical or material change or addition to a Presidential
archival depository would result in an increase in the costs of facility
operations, the Archivist may not accept any gift under subparagraph (C) of
paragraph (1) for the purpose of making such a change or addition, or may not
implement any provision of law requiring the making of such a change or
addition, unless the Archivist determines that there is available, by gift or
bequest for deposit under paragraph (2) of this subsection in an endowment with respect to such
depository, an amount for the purpose of maintaining the land, facility, and
equipment of such depository equal to the difference between-
"(A) the amount which, pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection,
would have been required to have been available for deposit in such
endowment with respect to such depository if such change or addition
had been included in such depository on-
"(i) the date on which the Archivist took title to the land,
facility, and equipment for such depository under subparagraph
(A) of subsection (a)(1); or
"(ii) the date on which the Archivist entered into an
agreement for the creation of such depository under
subparagraph (B) of such paragraph, as the case may be; minus
Presidential Libraries Act of 1986 (con't)
(B) the amount which, pursuant to paragraph (3) of this
subsection, was required to be available for deposit in such
endowment with respect to such depository on the date the
Archivist took such title or entered into such agreement, as the
case may be."
APPLICABILITY
SEC. 4. Paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 2112(g) of title 44, United States
Code (as added by the amendment made by section 3(b) of this Act) shall apply
with respect to any Presidential archival depository created as a depository for
the papers, documents, and other historical materials and Federal records
pertaining to any President who takes oath of office as President for the first
time on or after January 20, 1985.
STUDY OF MUSEUM OF THE PRESIDENTS
SEC. 5. (a) The Archivist of the United States, in consultation with
the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Capitol Planning
Commission, shall study the demand for, and the cost, and space and program
requirements of, establishing a museum of the Presidents. With respect to such
costs, the study shall examine the feasibility of establishing and operating such
museum exclusively with non-Federal funds.
(b) Each Federal agency shall cooperate with the Archivist in conducting the
study required by subsection (a).
(c) In the annual report for fiscal year 1986 required by section n 2106 of
title 44, United States Code, the Archivist shall include a statement of the
results required by subsection (a) and any recommendations of the Archivist
with respect to establishing such a museum.
The Bill was signed by Thomas O'Neil, Speaker of the House of Representatives and by Strom Thurmond,
President pro tempore of the Senate,
Approved on May 27, 1986 by Ronald Reagan, President of the United States
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