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Title 54 — National Park Service and Related ProgramsRelease 119-73not60

§102503 Authority of Secretary

Title 54 › Subtitle Subtitle I— National Park System › Chapter 1025— MUSEUMS › § 102503

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Even if other laws limit things, the Secretary can manage museum objects and related property in whatever way the Secretary thinks serves the public. The Secretary can take gifts and bequests of money or property and use them for this chapter. The Secretary can buy objects at prices the Secretary thinks are reasonable. The Secretary can trade objects, accepting items and giving away duplicates or items no longer needed on a fair basis. The Secretary can accept loans and pay shipping costs, and can lend objects to public or private groups without charging the United States, on terms needed to protect them. The Secretary can transfer objects no longer needed to qualified Federal agencies (including the Smithsonian Institution) and can accept transfers from other Federal agencies, without reimbursement. Other Federal agencies can send objects directly to the Secretary without payment. The Secretary can give objects, without payment, to 501(c)(3) nonprofits and to state or local governments if they are qualified to care for them. The Secretary can also destroy objects that have no scientific, cultural, historic, educational, aesthetic, or monetary value.

Full Legal Text

Title 54, §102503

National Park Service and Related Programs — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Notwithstanding other provisions or limitations of law, the Secretary may perform the functions described in this section in the manner that the Secretary considers to be in the public interest.
(b)The Secretary may accept donations and bequests of money or other personal property, and hold, use, expend, and administer the money or other personal property for purposes of this chapter.
(c)The Secretary may purchase museum objects and other personal property at prices that the Secretary considers to be reasonable.
(d)The Secretary may make exchanges by accepting museum objects and other personal property and by granting in exchange for the museum objects or other personal property museum property under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary that no longer is needed or that may be held in duplicate among the museum properties administered by the Secretary. Exchanges shall be consummated on a basis that the Secretary considers to be equitable and in the public interest.
(e)The Secretary may accept the loan of museum objects and other personal property and pay transportation costs incidental to the museum objects or other personal property. Loans shall be accepted on terms and conditions that the Secretary considers necessary.
(f)The Secretary may loan to responsible public or private organizations, institutions, or agencies, without cost to the United States, such museum objects and other personal property as the Secretary shall consider advisable. Loans shall be made on terms and conditions that the Secretary considers necessary to protect the public interest in those properties.
(g)The Secretary may transfer museum objects that the Secretary determines are no longer needed for museum purposes to qualified Federal agencies, including the Smithsonian Institution, that have programs to preserve and interpret cultural or natural heritage, and accept the transfer of museum objects for the purposes of this chapter from any other Federal agency, without reimbursement. The head of any other Federal agency may transfer, without reimbursement, museum objects directly to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for the purpose of this chapter.
(h)The Secretary may convey museum objects that the Secretary determines are no longer needed for museum purposes, without monetary consideration but subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary considers necessary, to private institutions exempt from Federal taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) and to non-Federal governmental entities if the Secretary determines that the recipient is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of natural or cultural heritage and is qualified to manage the property, prior to any conveyance under this subsection and subsection (g).
(i)The Secretary may destroy or cause to be destroyed museum objects that the Secretary determines to have no scientific, cultural, historic, educational, esthetic, or monetary value.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 102503(a) through (f)16 U.S.C. 18f (less 1st sentence).July 1, 1955, ch. 259, § 1 (less 1st sentence), 69 Stat. 242; Pub. L. 104–333, div. I, title VIII, § 804(a)(1), Nov. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 4187. 102503(g) through (i)16 U.S.C. 18f–2(a).July 1, 1955, ch. 259, § 2(a), as added Pub. L. 104–333, div. I, title VIII, § 804(a)(2), Nov. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 4187.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

54 U.S.C. § 102503

Title 54 — National Park Service and Related Programs

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60