(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise specifi-
cally provided in this Act, officers and employees of 
the Center shall not be considered officers or em-
ployees, and the Center shall not be considered a de-
partment, agency, or instrumentality, of the Federal 
Government. 
(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Officers and employees of 
the Center shall be considered officers and employ-
ees of the Federal Government for purposes of the 
following provisions of title 5, United States Code: 
subchapter I of chapter 81 (relating to compensation 
for work injuries); chapter 83 (relating to civil serv-
ice retirement); chapter 87 (relating to life insur-
ance); and chapter 89 (relating to health insurance). 
The Center shall make contributions at the same 
rates applicable to agencies of the Federal Govern-
ment under the provisions referred to in this sub-
section. 
(3) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION.—The Center 
and its officers and employees shall be subject to the 
provisions of section 552 of title 5, United States 
Code (relating to freedom of information). 
(4) OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.— 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as limiting 
the authority of the Office of Management and 
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Budget to review and submit comments upon the 
Center’s annual budget request at the time it is 
transmitted to the Congress. 
SEC. 7. POWERS, DUTIES, AND LIMITATIONS. 
(a) POWERS OF NONPROFIT CORPORATION.—To the 
extent consistent with the provisions of this Act, the Cen-
ter shall exercise the powers conferred upon a nonprofit 
corporation by the District of Columbia Nonprofit Cor-
poration Act (except for section 1005(o) of title 29 of the 
District of Columbia Code). 
(b) GRANT AND CONTRACT POWER.—The Center is 
authorized— 
(1) for the purpose of providing public defense 
services to indigent defendants, to provide financial 
assistance to and to make grants and contracts with 
individuals, partnerships, firms, corporations, non-
profit organizations, public defense systems, State 
governments, and local governments; and 
(2) to make such other grants and contracts as 
are necessary to carry out the purposes and provi-
sions of this Act. 
(c) POWER TO ACCEPT MONEY AND PROPERTY.— 
The Center is authorized to accept, in the name of the 
Center, and employ or dispose of in furtherance of the 
purposes of this Act, any money or property, real, per-
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sonal, or mixed, tangible or intangible, received by gift, 
devise, bequest, or otherwise. 
(d) OTHER POWERS RELATING TO THE PROVISION 
OF PUBLIC DEFENSE SERVICES.—The Center is author-
ized to undertake directly, or by grant or contract, the 
following activities relating to the delivery of public de-
fense services— 
(1) research; 
(2) training and technical assistance; and 
(3) to serve as a clearinghouse for information. 
(e) DISCIPLINARY POWERS.— 
(1) CENTER.—The Center shall have authority 
to ensure the compliance of recipients and their em-
ployees with the provisions of this Act and the rules, 
regulations, and guidelines promulgated pursuant to 
this Act, and to terminate, after a hearing in accord-
ance with section 11, financial support to a recipient 
which fails to comply. 
(2) RECIPIENT.—If a recipient finds that any 
of its employees has violated or caused the recipient 
to violate the provisions of this Act, or the rules, 
regulations, and guidelines promulgated pursuant to 
this Act, the recipient shall take appropriate reme-
dial or disciplinary action in accordance with the 
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types of procedures prescribed in the provisions of 
section 11. 
(f) REPRESENTATIONAL QUESTIONS.—No question 
of whether representation is authorized under this Act, or 
the rules, regulations, or guidelines promulgated pursuant 
to this Act, shall be considered in, or affect the final dis-
position of, any proceeding in which a person is rep-
resented by a recipient or an employee of a recipient. A 
litigant in such proceeding may refer any such question 
to the Center which shall review and dispose of the ques-
tion promptly, and take appropriate action. This sub-
section shall not preclude judicial review under applicable 
law. 
(g) INTERFERENCE WITH PROFESSIONAL RESPON-
SIBILITIES
OF ATTORNEYS PROHIBITED.—The Center 
shall not, under any provision of this Act, interfere with 
any attorney in carrying out such attorney’s professional 
responsibilities to such attorney’s client as established in 
the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional 
Conduct or abrogate as to attorneys in programs assisted 
under this Act the authority of a State of other jurisdic-
tion to enforce the standards of professional responsibility 
generally applicable to attorneys in such jurisdiction. The 
Center shall ensure that activities under this Act are car-
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ried out in a manner consistent with attorneys’ profes-
sional responsibilities. 
(h) BAR MEMBER REQUIRED.—No attorney shall re-
ceive any compensation, either directly or indirectly, for 
the provision of public defense services under this Act un-
less such attorney is admitted or otherwise authorized by 
law, rule, or regulation to practice law or provide such as-
sistance in the jurisdiction where such services are initi-
ated. 
(i) LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH.—In areas 
where significant numbers of indigent defendants speak 
a language other than English as their principal language, 
the Center shall, to the extent feasible, provide that their 
principal language is used in the provision of public de-
fense services to such defendants under this Act. 
(j) MISCELLANEOUS PROHIBITIONS.— 
(1) The Center shall have no power to issue any 
shares of stock, or to declare or pay any dividends. 
(2) No part of the income or assets of the Cen-
ter shall inure to the benefit of any director, officer, 
or employee, except as reasonable compensation for 
services or reimbursement for expenses. 
(k) POLITICAL ACTIVITIES OF CENTER EMPLOYEES 
AND STAFF ATTORNEYS.— 
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