§9497 Board of Governors

Summary

Creates an 11-person board to run the Civil Air Patrol and tells who serves, how leaders are picked, what the board can do, and when members are protected from lawsuits. Four members are picked by the Secretary of the Air Force (they can be active or retired Air Force officers, federal employees, or private citizens). Four members come from the Civil Air Patrol under its own rules. Three members come from other federal agencies, public corporations, nonprofits, or groups with civil aviation experience and are picked together by the Secretary and the Civil Air Patrol’s National Commander; if one of those three spots is not filled within 90 days, the other board members fill it by majority vote. The board picks a chair for a two-year term from the Secretary’s appointees or the Civil Air Patrol members, and the chair position must rotate between those two groups. The board can run Civil Air Patrol affairs and use the powers given to it under federal law, and it can change CAP’s constitution or bylaws if the board’s majority agrees. The board may limit a member’s personal money liability for breaches of duty, but it cannot shield members for breaches of loyalty, bad-faith acts, intentional misconduct, knowing law violations, or transactions that give them improper personal benefit. Sections 207 and 208 of title 18 still apply to board members who are active-duty Air Force, retired Air Force officers, or U.S. employees. Board members and officers are generally not personally liable for harm caused by a CAP employee or member unless the board member or officer was personally involved in the wrongful act. These protections add to, and do not replace, other legal protections members may have.