IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 439 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 23 (legislative day, JANUARY 22), 2019 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

To amend the charter of the Future Farmers of America, 

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. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National FFA Organi3 zation’s Federal Charter Amendments Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ORGANIZATION. 

5 Section 70901 of title 36, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘corporation’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘FFA’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘corporation’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘FFA’’. 

11 SEC. 3. PURPOSES OF THE CORPORATION. 

12 Section 70902 of title 36, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

15 striking ‘‘corporation’’ and inserting ‘‘FFA’’; 

16 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

17 paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; 

18 (3) by striking paragraphs (3), (4), (6), and 

19 (7); 

20 (4) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para21 graph (11); 

22 (5) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and (9) as 

23 paragraphs (12) and (13), respectively; 

24 (6) by inserting before paragraph (7), as redes25 ignated by paragraph (2), the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) to be an integral component of instruction 

2 in agricultural education, including instruction relat3 ing to agriculture, food, and natural resources; 

4 ‘‘(2) to advance comprehensive agricultural edu5 cation in the United States, including in public 

6 schools, by supporting contextual classroom and lab7 oratory instruction and work-based experiential 

8 learning; 

9 ‘‘(3) to prepare students for successful entry 

10 into productive careers in fields relating to agri11 culture, food, and natural resources, including by 

12 connecting students to relevant postsecondary edu13 cational pathways and focusing on the complete de14 livery of classroom and laboratory instruction, work15 based experiential learning, and leadership develop16 ment; 

17 ‘‘(4) to be a resource and support organization 

18 that does not select, control, or supervise State asso19 ciation, local chapter, or individual member activi20 ties; 

21 ‘‘(5) to develop educational materials, pro22 grams, services, and events as a service to State and 

23 local agricultural education agencies; 

24 ‘‘(6) to seek and promote inclusion and diver25 sity in its membership, leadership, and staff to reVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:38 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H439.RFS H439

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1 flect the belief of the FFA in the value of all human 

2 beings;’’; 

3 (7) in paragraph (7), as redesignated by para4 graph (2)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘composed of students and 

6 former students of vocational agriculture in 

7 public schools qualifying for Federal reimburse8 ment under the Smith-Hughes Vocational Edu9 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 11–15, 16–28’’; and 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘as such chapters and as11 sociations carry out agricultural education pro12 grams that are approved by States, territories, 

13 or possessions’’ after ‘‘United States’’; 

14 (8) in paragraph (8), as redesignated by para15 graph (2)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘to develop’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘to build’’; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘train for useful citizen19 ship, and foster patriotism, and thereby’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘and’’; and 

21 (C) by striking ‘‘aggressive rural and’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘assertive’’; 

23 (9) by inserting after paragraph (8), as redesig24 nated by paragraph (2), the following: 


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1 ‘‘(9) to increase awareness of the global and 

2 technological importance of agriculture, food, and 

3 natural resources, and the way agriculture contrib4 utes to our well-being; 

5 ‘‘(10) to promote the intelligent choice and es6 tablishment of a career in fields relating to agri7 culture, food, and natural resources;’’; 

8 (10) in paragraph (11), as redesignated by 

9 paragraph (4)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘to procure for and dis11 tribute to State’’ and inserting ‘‘to make avail12 able to State’’; 

13 (B) by inserting ‘‘, programs, services,’’ 

14 before ‘‘and equipment’’; and 

15 (C) by striking ‘‘corporation’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘FFA’’; 

17 (11) in paragraph (12), as redesignated by 

18 paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘State boards for voca19 tional’’ and inserting ‘‘State boards and officials for 

20 career and technical’’; and 

21 (12) in paragraph (13), as redesignated by 

22 paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘corporation’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘FFA’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 

2 Section 70903(a) of title 36, United States Code, is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘corporation’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘FFA’’; and 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘as provided in the bylaws’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘as provided in the constitution or bylaws 

8 of the FFA’’. 

9 SEC. 5. GOVERNING BODY. 

10 Section 70904 of title 36, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘corpora14 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘FFA’’ each place the term 

15 appears; 

16 (B) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and 

17 inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) The board— 

19 ‘‘(A) shall consist of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the Secretary of Education, or 

21 the Secretary of Education’s designee who 

22 has experience in agricultural education, 

23 the FFA, or career and technical edu24 cation; and 

25 ‘‘(ii) other individuals— 


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1 ‘‘(I) representing the fields of 

2 education, agriculture, food, and nat3 ural resources; or 

4 ‘‘(II) with experience working 

5 closely with the FFA; and 

6 ‘‘(B) shall not include any individual who 

7 is a current employee of the National FFA Or8 ganization. 

9 ‘‘(3) The number of directors, terms of office of 

10 the directors, and the method of selecting the direc11 tors, are as provided in the constitution or bylaws of 

12 the FFA.’’; and 

13 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

14 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

15 ‘‘bylaws’’ and inserting ‘‘constitution or 

16 bylaws of the FFA’’; and 

17 (ii) in the third sentence, by striking 

18 ‘‘chairman’’ and inserting ‘‘chair’’; 

19 (2) by striking subsection (b); and 

20 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(b) OFFICERS.—The officers of the FFA, the terms 

23 of officers, and the election of officers, are as provided 

24 in the constitution or bylaws of the FFA, except that such 

25 officers shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(1) a national advisor; 

2 ‘‘(2) an executive secretary; and 

3 ‘‘(3) a treasurer. 

4 ‘‘(c) GOVERNING COMMITTEE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) The board may designate a governing com6 mittee. The terms and method of selecting the gov7 erning committee members are as provided in the 

8 constitution or bylaws of the FFA, except that all 

9 members of the governing committee shall be mem10 bers of the board of directors and at all times the 

11 governing committee shall be comprised of not less 

12 than 3 individuals. 

13 ‘‘(2) When the board is not in session, the gov14 erning committee has the powers of the board sub15 ject to the board’s direction and may authorize the 

16 seal of the FFA to be affixed to all papers that re17 quire it. 

18 ‘‘(3) The board shall designate to such com19 mittee— 

20 ‘‘(A) the chair of the board; 

21 ‘‘(B) the executive secretary of the board; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(C) the treasurer of the board.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. NATIONAL STUDENT OFFICERS. 

2 Section 70905 of title 36, United States Code, is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(a) COMPOSITION.—There shall be not less than 6 

7 national student officers of the FFA, including a student 

8 president, 4 student vice presidents (each representing re9 gions as provided in the constitution or bylaws of the cor10 poration), and a student secretary.’’; 

11 (2) by striking subsection (b); 

12 (3) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

13 subsections (b) and (c), respectively; and 

14 (4) in subsection (b), as so redesignated, by 

15 striking ‘‘, except that’’ and all that follows through 

16 ‘‘(20 U.S.C. 11–15, 16–28)’’. 

17 SEC. 7. POWERS. 

18 Section 70906 of title 36, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

21 striking ‘‘corporation’’ and inserting ‘‘FFA’’; 

22 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘corporate’’; 

23 (3) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘corporation’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘FFA’’; 

25 (4) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘corporation’’ 

26 and inserting ‘‘FFA’’; 


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1 (5) by amending paragraph (8) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(8) use FFA funds to give prizes, awards, 

4 loans, and grants to deserving members, local FFA 

5 chapters, and State FFA associations to carry out 

6 the purposes of the FFA;’’; 

7 (6) by amending paragraph (9) to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(9) produce publications, websites, and other 

10 media;’’; 

11 (7) in paragraph (10)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘procure for and distribute 

13 to State’’ and inserting ‘‘make available to 

14 State’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘Future Farmers of Amer16 ica’’ and inserting ‘‘FFA’’; and 

17 (8) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘corpora18 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘FFA’’. 

19 SEC. 8. NAME, SEALS, EMBLEMS, AND BADGES. 

20 Section 70907 of title 36, United States Code, is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘corporation’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘FFA’’ each place the term appears; 

24 (2) by striking ‘‘name’’ and inserting ‘‘names’’; 


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1 (3) by striking ‘‘ ‘Future Farmers of America’ ’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘ ‘Future Farmers of America’ and 

3 ‘National FFA Organization,’ ’’; and 

4 (4) by inserting ‘‘education’’ before ‘‘member5 ship’’. 

6 SEC. 9. RESTRICTIONS. 

7 Section 70908 of title 36, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘corporation’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘FFA’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘corporation 

12 or a director, officer, or member as such’’ and in13 serting ‘‘FFA or a director, officer, or member act14 ing on behalf of the FFA’’; 

15 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘corporation’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘FFA’’ each place the term appears; 

17 and 

18 (4) in subsection (d), in the first sentence, by 

19 striking ‘‘corporation’’ and inserting ‘‘FFA’’. 

20 SEC. 10. RELATIONSHIP TO FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

21 Section 70909 of title 36, United States Code, is 

22 amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 70909. RELATIONSHIP TO FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—On request of the board of direc25 tors, the FFA may collaborate with Federal agencies, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:38 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H439.RFS H439

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1 cluding the Department of Education and the Department 

2 of Agriculture on matters of mutual interest and benefit. 

3 ‘‘(b) AGENCY ASSISTANCE.—Those Federal agencies 

4 may make personnel, services, and facilities available to 

5 administer or assist in the administration of the activities 

6 of the FFA. 

7 ‘‘(c) AGENCY COMPENSATION.—Personnel of the 

8 Federal agencies may not receive compensation from the 

9 FFA for their services, except that travel and other legiti10 mate expenses as defined by the Federal agencies and ap11 proved by the board may be paid. 

12 ‘‘(d) COOPERATION WITH STATE BOARDS.—The 

13 Federal agencies also may cooperate with State boards 

14 and other organizations for career and technical education 

15 to assist in the promotion of activities of the FFA.’’. 

16 SEC. 11. HEADQUARTERS AND PRINCIPAL OFFICE. 

17 Section 70910 of title 36, United States Code, is 

18 amended by striking ‘‘of the corporation shall be in the 

19 District of Columbia. However, the activities of the cor20 poration are not confined to the District of Columbia but’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘of the FFA shall be as provided in the con22 stitution or bylaws of the FFA. The activities of the 

23 FFA’’. 


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1 SEC. 12. RECORDS AND INSPECTION. 

2 Section 70911 of title 36, United States Code, is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘corporation’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘FFA’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘entitled 

8 to vote’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘corporation’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘FFA’’. 

11 SEC. 13. SERVICE OF PROCESS. 

12 Section 70912 of title 36, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘IN GENERAL’’; 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘corporation’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘FFA’’ each place the term appears; 

19 (C) by striking ‘‘in the District of Colum20 bia’’ before ‘‘to receive’’; and 

21 (D) by striking ‘‘Designation of the agent 

22 shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the 

23 United States District Court for the District of 

24 Columbia’’; and 

25 (2) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘corporation’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘FFA’’ each place the term appears; and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘of the FFA’’ after ‘‘asso4 ciation or chapter’’. 

5 SEC. 14. LIABILITY FOR ACTS OF OFFICERS OR AGENTS. 

6 Section 70913 of title 36, United States Code, is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘corporation’’ and inserting ‘‘FFA’’. 

8 SEC. 15. DISTRIBUTION OF ASSETS IN DISSOLUTION OR 

9 FINAL LIQUIDATION. 

10 Section 70914 of title 36, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘corporation’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘FFA’’; and 

14 (2) by striking ‘‘vocational agriculture’’ and in15 serting ‘‘agricultural education’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives January 22, 

2019. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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