I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1785 

To prohibit the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from charging a 

fee for admission to any exhibit which is part of the permanent collection 

of any museum or facility which is part of any bureau established 

in or under the Smithsonian Institution, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 5, 2011 

Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on House Administration 

A BILL 

To prohibit the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 

from charging a fee for admission to any exhibit which 

is part of the permanent collection of any museum or 

facility which is part of any bureau established in or 

under the Smithsonian Institution, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. PROHIBITING CHARGING OF FEES FOR ADMIS2 SION TO PERMANENT COLLECTIONS OF 

3 SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS OR FACILITIES. 

4 (a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsections 

5 (a) and (b), the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 

6 may not charge a fee for admission to any exhibit which 

7 is part of the permanent collection of any museum or facil8 ity which is part of any bureau established in or under 

9 the Smithsonian Institution, including the National Gal10 lery of Art. 

11 (b) EXCEPTION FOR NECESSARY AND UNAVOIDABLE

12 FEES.—The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution may 

13 charge a fee for admission to an exhibit described in sub14 section (a) if— 

15 (1) the Secretary determines that charging a 

16 fee for admission to the exhibit is necessary and un17 avoidable; 

18 (2) the Secretary submits a statement explain19 ing the determination to the Committee on House 

20 Administration of the House of Representatives, the 

21 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

22 the House of Representatives, the Committee on En23 vironment and Public Works of the Senate, and the 

24 Committee on Rules and Administration of the Sen25 ate; and 


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1 (3) the charging of the fee does not take effect 

2 until after the expiration of the 45-day period which 

3 begins on the date the Secretary submits the state4 ment under paragraph (1). 

5 (c) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN CURRENT EXHIBIT.— 

6 This section does not apply to the exhibit entitled ‘‘But7 terfly Pavilion’’ at the National Museum of Natural His8 tory. 

9 SEC. 2. PLAN FOR ELIMINATION OF FEE FOR CURRENT EX10 HIBIT. 

11 Not later than one year after the date of the enact12 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu13 tion shall submit to the Committee on House Administra14 tion of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

15 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep16 resentatives, the Committee on Environment and Public 

17 Works of the Senate, and the Committee on Rules and 

18 Administration of the Senate a plan for eliminating the 

19 admission fee for the exhibit entitled ‘‘Butterfly Pavilion’’ 

20 at the National Museum of Natural History, and shall in21 clude in the plan such steps as the Secretary considers 

22 appropriate to cover the expenses incurred in carrying out 

23 the exhibit. 

Æ 


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