108TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 13
AN ACT
To reauthorize the Museum and Library Services
Act, and for other purposes.
108TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 13
AN ACT
To reauthorize the Museum and Library Services Act, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Museum and Library
Services Act of 2003’’.
TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 101. GENERAL DEFINITIONS.
Section 202 of the Museum and Library Services Act
(20 U.S.C. 9101) is amended—
(1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(1) DETERMINED TO BE OBSCENE.—The term
‘determined to be obscene’ means determined, in a
final judgment of a court of record and of competent
jurisdiction in the United States, to be obscene.’’;
(2) by striking paragraph (4);
(3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (5);
(4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(3) FINAL JUDGMENT.—The term ‘final judg-
ment’ means a judgment that is—
‘‘(A) not reviewed by any other court that
has authority to review such judgment; or
‘‘(B) is not reviewable by any other court.
‘‘(4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’
means any tribe, band, nation, or other organized
group or community, including any Alaska native
village, regional corporation, or village corporation
(as defined in, or established pursuant to, the Alas-
ka Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et
seq.)), which is recognized by the Secretary of the
Interior as eligible for the special programs and
services provided by the United States to Indians be-
cause of their status as Indians.’’; and
(5) by adding after paragraph (5) (as so redes-
ignated) the following:
‘‘(6) 
MUSEUM
AND
LIBRARY
SERVICES
BOARD.—The term ‘Museum and Library Services
Board’ means the National Museum and Library
Services Board established under section 207.
‘‘(7) OBSCENE.—The term ‘obscene’ means,
with respect to a project, that—
‘‘(A) the average person, applying contem-
porary community standards, would find that
such project, when taken as a whole, appeals to
the prurient interest;
‘‘(B) such project depicts or describes sex-
ual conduct in a patently offensive way; and
‘‘(C) such project, when taken as a whole,
lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or sci-
entific value.’’.
SEC. 102. INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES.
Section 203 of the Museum and Library Services Act
(20 U.S.C. 9102) is amended—
(1) in subsection (b), by striking the last sen-
tence; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(c) MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES BOARD.—
There shall be a National Museum and Library Services
Board within the Institute, as provided under section
207.’’.
SEC. 103. DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE.
(a) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—Section 204(e)
of the Museum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C.
9103(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘Where appropriate, the Director shall ensure that activi-
ties under subtitle B are coordinated with activities under
section 1251 of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6383).’’.
(b) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—Section 204 of such
Act (20 U.S.C. 9103) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘(f) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Director may
promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary
and appropriate to implement the provisions of this title.
‘‘(g) APPLICATION PROCEDURES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible to
receive financial assistance under this title, a person
or agency shall submit an application in accordance
with procedures established by the Director by regu-
lation.
‘‘(2) REVIEW AND EVALUATION.—The Director
shall establish procedures for reviewing and evalu-
ating such applications. Such procedures shall not be
subject to any review outside of the Institute. In es-
tablishing such procedures, the Director shall ensure
that the criteria by which applications are evaluated
are consistent with the purposes of this title, taking
into consideration general standards of decency and
respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the
American public.
‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF PROJECTS DETERMINED
TO BE OBSCENE.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The procedures de-
scribed in paragraph (2) shall include provisions
that clearly specify that obscenity is without lit-
erary, artistic, political, or scientific merit, and
is not protected speech.
‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—No financial assist-
ance may be provided under this title with re-
spect to any project that is determined to be
obscene.
‘‘(C) TREATMENT
OF
APPLICATION
DIS-
APPROVAL.—The disapproval of an application
by the Director shall not be construed to mean,
and shall not be considered as evidence that,
the project for which the applicant requested fi-
nancial assistance is or is not obscene.’’.
SEC. 104. NATIONAL MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES
BOARD.
The Museum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C.
9101 et seq.) is amended—
(1) by redesignating section 207 as section 208;
and
(2) by inserting after section 206 the following:
‘‘SEC. 207. NATIONAL MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES
BOARD.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the
Institute a board to be known as the ‘National Museum
and Library Services Board’.
‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—
‘‘(1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Mu-
seum and Library Services Board shall be composed
of the following:
‘‘(A) The Director.