PRESERVE Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9689 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9689

     To protect publicly commissioned art, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 2026

Ms. Titus (for herself and Mr. Doggett) introduced the following bill;
       which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and
   Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and
 Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

     To protect publicly commissioned art, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Resources and Ensuring
Stewardship of Enduring Records of Visual Expression Act'' or the
``PRESERVE Act''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTING PUBLICLY COMMISSIONED ART.

    (a) Covered Art Designation.--
            (1) Determination required by gsa.--Not later than 30 days
        after the date on which the Administrator determines excess
        property that is Federal real property is surplus property, the
        Administrator shall determine whether the surplus property
        contains covered art.
            (2) Notification required.--Not later than 60 days after
        the Administrator determines that surplus property is covered
        surplus property, the Administrator shall notify the
        appropriate congressional committees and each Member of
        Congress that represents the area where the surplus property is
        located of such designation.
    (b) Preservation Committee.--
            (1) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days before the
        initiation of the first demolition, transfer, or disposal of a
        covered surplus property, the Administrator shall establish a
        Preservation Committee for such covered surplus property.
            (2) Member.--There shall be at least 3 and not more than 6
        members of the Preservation Committee as follows:
                    (A) At least one member shall be a GSA Fine Arts
                Program employee who is a career employee in the civil
                service.
                    (B) At least two members from different categories
                as follows:
                            (i) An expert in art conservation or art
                        history in either the time period or medium of
                        the covered art.
                            (ii) Any GSA employee that is responsible
                        for preserving the artwork in the Federal
                        building, such as an Historic Preservation
                        Program employee.
                            (iii) Any other individual the
                        Administrator determines has important
                        historical knowledge about the creation or
                        preservation of the covered artwork.
            (3) GSA plan or alternatives required to be submitted.--On
        the date on which the Preservation Committee is established,
        the Administrator shall provide the Preservation Committee
        with--
                    (A) a proposed plan of action for the sale,
                transfer, or demolition of the property; or
                    (B) a range of alternatives the Administrator is
                considering for the covered surplus property.
            (4) Preservation plan.--
                    (A) Submission of plan.--Not later than 90 days
                after the date on which the Preservation Committee is
                established, the Preservation Committee shall submit to
                the Administrator, the appropriate congressional
                committees, and each Member of Congress that represents
                the area where the surplus property is located a
                preservation plan for covered art within the surplus
                properties to preserve the covered artwork to the
                maximum extent possible, including through a
                preservation covenant in an outlease agreement and sale
                terms, or moving covered artwork to another facility or
                museum.
                    (B) Availability of preservation plan on gsa
                website.--Not later than 30 days after the date on
                which the Administrator receives the preservation plan
                pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall
                make the plan publicly available on the GSA website for
                not less than 90 days.
                    (C) Report required for missed deadline.--If the
                Preservation Committee does not meet the deadline under
                subparagraph (A), the Committee shall submit to
                Congress and the Administrator a report explaining why
                the deadline was missed.
            (5) Transfer of property.--At the recommendation of the
        Preservation Committee, the Administrator may place the covered
        art on long-term loan to a museum or nonprofit organization, if
        the agreement to transfer includes the requirements described
        in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (4).
            (6) Condition for real property disposal.--The
        Administrator may not dispose of, demolish, or outlease any
        covered surplus property unless--
                    (A) the Administrator has established a
                Preservation Committee for such covered surplus
                property and the Preservation Committee has finished
                the preservation plan for any covered art in the
                property, in accordance with paragraph (4); and
                    (B) the Administrator certifies to the appropriate
                congressional committees that the GSA is implementing
                such preservation plan and the covered artwork in such
                covered surplus property will remain publicly
                accessible under any future owners or tenants of the
                property.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
        Administrator of General Services.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Transportation and
                Infrastructure of the House of Representatives;
                    (B) the Committee on Oversight and Government
                Reform of the House of Representatives; and
                    (C) the Committee on Environment and Public Works
                of the Senate.
            (3) Civil service.--The term ``civil service'' has the
        meaning given that term in section 2101 of title 5, United
        States Code.
            (4) Covered art.--The term ``covered art'' means artwork
        that--
                    (A) is owned by the Federal Government; and
                    (B) is or was, within the preceding 5 years,
                managed by the General Services Administration Fine
                Arts Program, including any work commissioned using
                taxpayer funds under a Federal program established as
                part of the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
                or commissioned through the GSA Art in Architecture
                program.
            (5) Covered surplus property.--The term ``covered surplus
        property'' means surplus property the Administrator determines
        contains covered art under subsection (a).
            (6) Excess property; surplus property.--The terms ``excess
        property'' and ``surplus property'' have the meaning given
        those terms in section 102 of title 40, United States Code.
            (7) GSA.--The term ``GSA'' means the General Services
        Administration.
            (8) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit
        organization'' means an organization that is described in
        section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and
        exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.
            (9) Publicly accessible.--The term ``publicly accessible''
        means accessible to the general public on a regular and
        predictable basis.
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