§9497 Board of Governors

Summary

The Civil Air Patrol must be run by a Board of Governors made up of 11 people. Four are chosen by the Secretary of the Air Force and can be active or retired Air Force officers, U.S. employees, or private citizens. Four are picked from Civil Air Patrol members under the CAP’s own rules. Three come from federal agencies, public corporations, nonprofits, or other groups with civil aviation knowledge; those three are appointed together by the Secretary of the Air Force and the CAP National Commander. If one of those three seats is not filled within 90 days, the other Board members fill it by majority vote. The Board picks a Chair from among the Secretary-appointed and CAP-selected members. The Chair serves for two years and the job rotates between the Secretary-appointed group and the CAP-selected group. The Board has the powers given to the Civil Air Patrol under section 40304 of title 36. Changes to the CAP constitution or bylaws need a majority of the Board to approve. The Board cannot change rules required by this law. The Board may limit a governor’s personal money liability for breaches of duty, but it cannot shield members for disloyalty, bad faith, intentional wrongdoing, knowing law violations, or gaining improper personal benefit. Federal ethics rules in sections 207 and 208 of title 18 still apply to governors who are active-duty, retired officers, or U.S. employees. Board members and CAP officers are generally not personally liable for harms caused by CAP employees unless they personally took part in the wrongful act. Other legal protections still apply, and these protections add to the liability limits above.