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Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and WorksRelease 119-110

§8906 Criteria for Issuance of Construction Permit

Title 40 › SUBTITLE II — PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND WORKS › PART D — PUBLIC BUILDINGS, GROUNDS, AND PARKS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA › CHAPTER 89 — NATIONAL CAPITAL MEMORIALS AND COMMEMORATIVE WORKS › § 8906

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Before a permit is given to build a memorial in Washington, D.C. or nearby, the Interior Secretary or the General Services Administrator must make sure a few things are true. The chosen site and the design must have been approved by them and by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts. Experts in preservation and maintenance must have been asked about the memorial’s strength and durability. The sponsor must give the official construction contract papers and must have enough money to finish the project. The sponsor must also give an amount equal to 10% of the estimated construction cost to pay for long‑term upkeep, unless a federal agency builds the memorial and less than 50% of its funding comes from private sources. Money given before the Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003 goes into a special Treasury account; money given after that goes into a special National Park Foundation account. The Treasury or Foundation must release funds for maintenance when asked, but only up to what is in the account. The Interior Secretary or Administrator can stop work if fundraising falsely claims a government tie. The sponsor must send a yearly operations report with audited financial statements and pay for that audit.

Full Legal Text

Title 40, §8906

Public Buildings, Property, and Works, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Criteria for Issuing Permit.—
Before issuing a permit for the construction of a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, the Secretary of the Interior or Administrator of General Services, as appropriate, shall determine that—
(1)the site and design have been approved by the Secretary or Administrator, the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts;
(2)knowledgeable individuals qualified in the field of preservation and maintenance have been consulted to determine structural soundness and durability of the commemorative work and to ensure that the commemorative work meets high professional standards;
(3)the sponsor authorized to construct the commemorative work has submitted contract documents for construction of the commemorative work to the Secretary or Administrator; and
(4)the sponsor authorized to construct the commemorative work has available sufficient amounts to complete construction of the project.
(b)Donation for Perpetual Maintenance and Preservation.—
(1)In addition to the criteria described above in subsection (a), no construction permit shall be issued unless the sponsor authorized to construct the commemorative work has donated an amount equal to 10 percent of the total estimated cost of construction to offset the costs of perpetual maintenance and preservation of the commemorative work. All such amounts shall be available for those purposes pursuant to the provisions of this subsection. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply in instances when the commemorative work is constructed by a Department or agency of the Federal Government and less than 50 percent of the funding for such work is provided by private sources.
(2)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, money on deposit in the Treasury on the date of enactment of the Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003 provided by a sponsor for maintenance pursuant to this subsection shall be credited to a separate account in the Treasury.
(3)Money provided by a sponsor pursuant to the provisions of this subsection after the date of enactment of the Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003 shall be credited to a separate account with the National Park Foundation.
(4)Upon request of the Secretary or Administrator (as appropriate), the Secretary of the Treasury or the National Park Foundation shall make all or a portion of such moneys available to the Secretary or the Administrator (as appropriate) for the maintenance of a commemorative work. Under no circumstances may the Secretary or Administrator request funds from a separate account exceeding the total money in the account established under paragraph (2) or (3). The Secretary and the Administrator shall maintain an inventory of funds available for such purposes. Funds provided under this paragraph shall be available without further appropriation and shall remain available until expended.
(c)Suspension for Misrepresentation in Fundraising.—
The Secretary of the Interior or Administrator may suspend any activity under this chapter that relates to the establishment of a commemorative work if the Secretary or Administrator determines that fundraising efforts relating to the work have misrepresented an affiliation with the work or the Federal Government.
(d)Annual Report.—
The person authorized to construct a commemorative work under this chapter must submit to the Secretary of the Interior or Administrator an annual report of operations, including financial statements audited by an independent certified public accountant. The person shall pay for the report.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 8906(a)40:1008(a).Pub. L. 99–652, § 8, Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3652; Pub. L. 103–321, § 2(e), Aug. 26, 1994, 108 Stat. 1794. 8906(b)(1)40:1008(b) (words before proviso), cl. (1). 8906(b)(2), (3)40:1008(b)(2). 8906(b)(4)40:1008(b) (proviso). 8906(c)40:1008(c)(1). 8906(d)40:1008(c)(2). In subsection (b)(1), the words “Notwithstanding any other provision of law” are omitted as unnecessary. In subsection (b)(2), the words “Congress authorizes and directs that” are omitted as unnecessary.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of enactment of the Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003, referred to in subsec. (b)(2), (3), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 108–126, which was approved on Nov. 17, 2003.

Amendments

2003—Subsec. (a)(3), (4). Pub. L. 108–126, § 203(f)(1), substituted “sponsor” for “person”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 108–126, § 203(f)(2), added subsec. (b) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (b). Text read as follows: “(1) Amount.—In addition to the criteria described in subsection (a), a

Construction

permit may not be issued unless the person authorized to construct the commemorative work has donated an amount equal to 10 percent of the total estimated cost of

Construction

to offset the costs of perpetual maintenance and preservation of the commemorative work. The amounts shall be credited to a separate account in the Treasury. “(2) Availability.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall make any part of the donated amount available to the Secretary of the Interior or Administrator for maintenance at the request of the Secretary of the Interior or Administrator. The Secretary of the Interior or Administrator shall not request more from the separate account than the total amount deposited by persons establishing commemorative works in areas the Secretary of the Interior or Administrator administers. “(3) Inventory of available amounts.—The Secretary of the Interior and Administrator shall maintain an inventory of amounts available under this subsection. The amounts are not subject to annual appropriations. “(4) Nonapplicability.—This subsection does not apply when a department or agency of the Federal Government constructs the work and less than 50 percent of the funding for the work is provided by private sources.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2003 Amendment

Amendments

by Pub. L. 108–126 not applicable to a commemorative work for which a site was approved in accordance with this chapter prior to Nov. 17, 2003, see section 205 of Pub. L. 108–126, set out as a note under section 8901 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

40 U.S.C. § 8906

Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110