I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2621 
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 
JULY 8, 2013 
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 pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. PROHIBITING CHARGING OF FEES FOR ADMIS-
SION 
TO 
PERMANENT 
COLLECTIONS 
OF 
SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS OR FACILITIES. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsections 
(a) and (b), the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 
may not charge a fee for admission to any exhibit which 
is part of the permanent collection of any museum or facil-
ity which is part of any bureau established in or under 
the Smithsonian Institution, including the National Gal-
lery of Art. 
(b) EXCEPTION FOR NECESSARY AND UNAVOIDABLE 
FEES.—The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution may 
charge a fee for admission to an exhibit described in sub-
section (a) if— 
(1) the Secretary determines that charging a 
fee for admission to the exhibit is necessary and un-
avoidable; 
(2) the Secretary submits a statement explain-
ing the determination to the Committee on House 
Administration of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee on En-
vironment and Public Works of the Senate, and the 
Committee on Rules and Administration of the Sen-
ate; and 
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(3) the charging of the fee does not take effect 
until after the expiration of the 45-day period which 
begins on the date the Secretary submits the state-
ment under paragraph (1). 
(c) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN CURRENT EXHIBIT.— 
This section does not apply to the exhibit entitled ‘‘But-
terfly Pavilion’’ at the National Museum of Natural His-
tory. 
SEC. 2. PLAN FOR ELIMINATION OF FEE FOR CURRENT EX-
HIBIT. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion shall submit to the Committee on House Administra-
tion of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep-
resentatives, the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works of the Senate, and the Committee on Rules and 
Administration of the Senate a plan for eliminating the 
admission fee for the exhibit entitled ‘‘Butterfly Pavilion’’ 
at the National Museum of Natural History, and shall in-
clude in the plan such steps as the Secretary considers 
appropriate to cover the expenses incurred in carrying out 
the exhibit. 
Æ 
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