§ 153501. Organization

• (a) National Tropical Botanical Garden (in this chapter, the “corporation”) is a federally chartered corporation.
• (b) Except as otherwise provided, the corporation has perpetual existence.

§ 153502. Purposes

The purposes of the corporation are—

• (1) to establish, develop, operate, and maintain for the benefit of the people of the United States an educational and scientific center in the form of one or more tropical botanical gardens, together with facilities such as libraries, herbaria, laboratories, and museums that are appropriate and necessary for encouraging and conducting research in basic and applied tropical botany;
• (2) to foster and encourage fundamental research about tropical plant life and to encourage research and study of the uses of tropical flora in agriculture, forestry, horticulture, medicine, and other sciences;
• (3) to disseminate through publications and other media the knowledge about basic and applied tropical botany acquired at the gardens;
• (4) to collect and cultivate tropical flora of every nature and origin and to preserve for the people of the United States species of tropical plant life threatened with extinction; and
• (5) to provide a beneficial facility that will contribute to the education, instruction, and recreation of the people of the United States.

§ 153503. Membership

• (a) Except as provided in this chapter, eligibility for membership in the corporation and the rights and privileges of members are as provided in the constitution and bylaws of the corporation.
• (b) Each member (except an honorary or associate member) has one vote on each matter submitted to a vote at a meeting of the members.

§ 153504. Governing body

• (a)
  • (1) The board of trustees is the governing body of the corporation. The duties and powers of the board are as provided in the bylaws.
  • (2) The manner of selection and term of office of the trustees are as provided in the bylaws.
• (b)
  • (1) The officers of the corporation are a president, one or more vice presidents, a secretary, a treasurer, and other officers as provided in the bylaws.
  • (2) The manner of election, term of office, and duties of the officers are as provided in the bylaws.

§ 153505. Powers

The corporation may—

• (1) adopt and amend bylaws for the management of its property and the regulation of its affairs;
• (2) adopt and alter a corporate seal;
• (3) choose officers, trustees, managers, employees, and agents as the activities of the corporation require;
• (4) make contracts;
• (5) acquire, own, lease, encumber, and transfer property as necessary or proper to carry out the purposes of the corporation;
• (6) borrow money, issue instruments of indebtedness, and secure its obligations by granting security interests in its property;
• (7) sue and be sued; and
• (8) do any other act necessary and proper to carry out the purposes of the corporation.

§ 153506. Exclusive right to name

The corporation has the exclusive right to use and to allow others to use the name “National Tropical Botanical Garden”.

§ 153507. Restrictions

• (a) The corporation may not issue stock or declare or pay a dividend.
• (b) The corporation or a trustee or officer as such may not contribute to, support, or assist a political party or candidate for elective public office.
• (c) The income or assets of the corporation may not inure to the benefit of, or be distributed to, a trustee, officer, or member during the life of the corporation or on its dissolution or final liquidation. This subsection does not prevent the payment of reasonable compensation to an officer or reimbursement for actual necessary expenses in amounts approved by the board of trustees.
• (d) The corporation may not make a loan to a trustee, officer, or employee. Trustees who vote for or assent to making a loan to a trustee, officer, or employee, and officers who participate in making the loan, are jointly and severally liable to the corporation for the amount of the loan until it is repaid.

§ 153508. Principal office and location of activities and gardens

• (a) The principal office of the corporation shall be in the District of Columbia or another place decided by the board of trustees.
• (b) The activities of the corporation may be conducted anywhere. However, the corporation may establish tropical botanical gardens only in the United States and its territories and possessions.

§ 153509. Records and inspection

• (a) The corporation shall keep—
  • (1) correct and complete records of account;
  • (2) minutes of the proceedings of its board of trustees and committees having any of the authority of its board of trustees; and
  • (3) at its principal office, a record of the names and addresses of its members entitled to vote.
• (b) A member entitled to vote, or an agent or attorney of the member, may inspect the records of the corporation for any proper purpose, at any reasonable time.

§ 153510. Statement required in audit report

The corporation shall include in the audit report statement required under section 10101(b)(1)(B) of this title a schedule of all contracts requiring payments greater than $10,000 and all payments of compensation or fees at a rate of greater than $10,000 a year.

§ 153511. Service of process

The corporation shall have a designated agent in the District of Columbia to receive service of process for the corporation. Notice to or service on the agent, or mailed to the business address of the agent, is notice to or service on the corporation.

§ 153512. Liability for acts of officers and agents

The corporation is liable for the acts of its officers and agents acting within the scope of their authority.

§ 153513. Distribution of assets on dissolution or final liquidation

• (a) On dissolution or final liquidation of the corporation, any assets remaining after the discharge of all liabilities shall be distributed, as decided by the board of trustees, to—
  • (1) the United States Government, to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior under section 100101(a), chapter 1003, and sections 100751(a), 100752, 100753, and 102101 of title 54, United States Code; or
  • (2) a State or local government to be used for a public purpose.
• (b) A distribution under subsection (a) of this section shall be consistent with the purposes of the corporation and in compliance with the charter and bylaws.

§ 153514. Authorization of appropriations

• (a) Subject to subsection (b), there is authorized to be appropriated to the corporation for operation and maintenance expenses $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2017.
• (b) Any Federal funds made available under subsection (a) shall be matched on a 1-to-1 basis by non-Federal funds.