731 
the private sector, and other entities committed 
to rural advancement; and 
‘‘(B) have a nonpartisan and nondiscrim-
inatory membership that— 
‘‘(i) is broad and representative of the 
economic, social, and political diversity of 
the State; and 
‘‘(ii) shall be responsible for the gov-
ernance and operations of the State rural 
development council. 
‘‘(3) DUTIES.—A State rural development 
council shall— 
‘‘(A) facilitate collaboration among Fed-
eral, State, local, and tribal governments and 
the private and nonprofit sectors in the plan-
ning and implementation of programs and poli-
cies that have an impact on rural areas of the 
State; 
‘‘(B) monitor, report, and comment on 
policies and programs that address, or fail to 
address, the needs of the rural areas of the 
State; 
‘‘(C) as part of the Partnership, facilitate 
the development of strategies to reduce or elimi-
nate conflicting or duplicative administrative or 
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regulatory requirements of Federal, State, local, 
and tribal governments; and 
‘‘(D)(i) provide to the Secretary an annual 
plan with goals and performance measures; and 
‘‘(ii) submit to the Secretary an annual re-
port on the progress of the State rural develop-
ment council in meeting the goals and meas-
ures. 
‘‘(4) FEDERAL PARTICIPATION IN STATE RURAL 
DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State Director for 
Rural Development of the Department of Agri-
culture, other employees of the Department, 
and employees of other Federal agencies with 
rural responsibilities shall fully participate as 
voting members in the governance and oper-
ations of State rural development councils (in-
cluding activities related to grants, contracts, 
and other agreements in accordance with this 
section) on an equal basis with other members 
of the State rural development councils. 
‘‘(B) CONFLICTS.—Participation by a Fed-
eral employee in a State rural development 
council in accordance with this paragraph shall 
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not constitute a violation of section 205 or 208 
of title 18, United States Code. 
‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT OF THE PARTNER-
SHIP.— 
‘‘(1) DETAIL OF EMPLOYEES.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—In order to provide 
experience in intergovernmental collaboration, 
the head of an agency with rural responsibilities 
that elects to participate in the Partnership 
may, and is encouraged to, detail to the Sec-
retary for the support of the Partnership 1 or 
more employees of the agency with rural re-
sponsibilities without reimbursement for a pe-
riod of up to 1 year. 
‘‘(B) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail 
shall be without interruption or loss of civil 
service status or privilege. 
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL
SUPPORT.—The Secretary 
may provide for any additional support staff to the 
Partnership as the Secretary determines to be nec-
essary to carry out the duties of the Partnership. 
‘‘(3) INTERMEDIARIES.—The Secretary may 
enter into a contract with a qualified intermediary 
under which the intermediary shall be responsible 
for providing administrative and technical assistance 
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