H.R. 2614 (104^th): Commemorative Coin Authorization and Reform Act of 1995

HR 2614 RFS

104th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 2614

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

December 6, 1995

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

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AN ACT

To reform the commemorative coin programs of the United States Mint in order to protect the integrity of such programs and prevent losses of Government funds, to authorize the United States Mint to mint and issue platinum and gold bullion coins, 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 ‘Commemorative Coin Authorization and Reform Act of 1995’.

TITLE I--COMMEMORATIVE COIN PROGRAM REFORM

SEC. 101. RECOVERY OF MINT EXPENSES REQUIRED BEFORE PAYMENT OF SURCHARGES TO ANY RECIPIENT ORGANIZATION.

(a) CLARIFICATION OF LAW RELATING TO DEPOSIT OF SURCHARGES IN THE NUMISMATIC PUBLIC ENTERPRISE FUND- Section 5134(c)(2) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘, including amounts attributable to any surcharge imposed with respect to the sale of any numismatic item’ before the period.

(b) CONDITIONS ON PAYMENT OF SURCHARGES TO RECIPIENT ORGANIZATIONS- Section 5134 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

‘(f) CONDITIONS ON PAYMENT OF SURCHARGES TO RECIPIENT ORGANIZATIONS-

‘(1) PAYMENT OF SURCHARGES- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no amount derived from the proceeds of any surcharge imposed on the sale of any numismatic item shall be paid from the fund to any designated recipient organization unless--

‘(A) all numismatic operation and program costs allocable to the program under which such numismatic item is produced and sold have been recovered; and

‘(B) the designated recipient organization submits an audited financial statement which demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury that, with respect to all projects or purposes for which the proceeds of such surcharge may be used, the organization has raised funds from private sources for such projects and purposes in an amount which is equal to or greater than the maximum amount the organization may receive from the proceeds of such surcharge.

‘(2) ANNUAL AUDITS-

‘(A) ANNUAL AUDITS OF RECIPIENTS REQUIRED- Each designated recipient organization which receives any payment from the fund of any amount derived from the proceeds of any surcharge imposed on the sale of any numismatic item shall provide, as a condition for receiving any such amount, for an annual audit, in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards by an independent public accountant selected by the organization, of all such payments to the organization beginning in the first fiscal year of the organization in which any such amount is received and continuing until all amounts received by such organization from the fund with respect to such surcharges are fully expended or placed in trust.

‘(B) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR ANNUAL AUDITS- At a minimum, each audit of a designated recipient organization pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall report--

‘(i) the amount of payments received by the designated recipient organization from the fund during the fiscal year of the organization for which the audit is conducted which are derived from the proceeds of any surcharge imposed on the sale of any numismatic item;

‘(ii) the amount expended by the designated recipient organization from the proceeds of such surcharges during the fiscal year of the organization for which the audit is conducted; and

‘(iii) whether all expenditures by the designated recipient organization during the fiscal year of the organization for which the audit is conducted from the proceeds of such surcharges were for authorized purposes.

‘(C) RESPONSIBILITY OF ORGANIZATION TO ACCOUNT FOR EXPENDITURES OF SURCHARGES- Each designated recipient organization which receives any payment from the fund of any amount derived from the proceeds of any surcharge imposed on the sale of any numismatic item shall take appropriate steps, as a condition for receiving any such payment, to ensure that the receipt of the payment and the expenditure of the proceeds of such surcharge by the organization in each fiscal year of the organization can be accounted for separately from all other revenues and expenditures of the organization.

‘(D) SUBMISSION OF AUDIT REPORT- Not later than 90 days after the end of any fiscal year of a designated recipient organization for which an audit is required under subparagraph (A), the organization shall--

‘(i) submit a copy of the report to the Secretary of the Treasury; and

‘(ii) make a copy of the report available to the public.

‘(E) USE OF SURCHARGES FOR AUDITS- Any designated recipient organization which receives any payment from the fund of any amount derived from the proceeds of any surcharge imposed on the sale of any numismatic item may use the amount received to pay the cost of an audit required under subparagraph (A).

‘(F) WAIVER OF PARAGRAPH- The Secretary of the Treasury may waive the application of any subparagraph of this paragraph to any designated recipient organization for any fiscal year after taking into account the amount of surcharges which such organization received or expended during such year.

‘(G) NONAPPLICABILITY TO FEDERAL ENTITIES- This paragraph shall not apply to any Federal agency or department or any independent establishment in the executive branch which receives any payment from the fund of any amount derived from the proceeds of any surcharge imposed on the sale of any numismatic item.

‘(H) AVAILABILITY OF BOOKS AND RECORDS- An organization which receives any payment from the fund of any amount derived from the proceeds of any surcharge imposed on the sale of any numismatic item shall provide, as a condition for receiving any such payment, to the Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury or the Comptroller General of the United States, upon the request of such Inspector General or the Comptroller General, all books, records, and workpapers belonging to or used by the organization, or by any independent public accountant who audited the organization in accordance with subparagraph (A), which may relate to the receipt or expenditure of any such amount by the organization.

‘(3) USE OF AGENTS OR ATTORNEYS TO INFLUENCE COMMEMORATIVE COIN LEGISLATION- No portion of any payment from the fund to any designated recipient organization of any amount derived from the proceeds of any surcharge imposed on the sale of any numismatic item may be used, directly or indirectly, by the organization to compensate any agent or attorney for services rendered to support or influence in any way legislative action of the Congress relating to such numismatic item.

‘(4) DESIGNATED RECIPIENT ORGANIZATION DEFINED- For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘designated recipient organization’ means any organization designated, under any provision of law, as the recipient of any surcharge imposed on the sale of any numismatic item.’.

(c) SCOPE OF APPLICATION- The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to the proceeds of any surcharge imposed on the sale of any numismatic item which are deposited in the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(d) REPEAL OF EXISTING RECIPIENT REPORT REQUIREMENT- Section 303 of Public Law 103--186 (31 U.S.C. 5112 note) is hereby repealed.

SEC. 102. CITIZENS COMMEMORATIVE COIN ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

(a) FIXED TERMS FOR MEMBERS- Section 5135(a)(4) of title 31, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

‘(4) TERMS- Each member appointed under clause (i) or (iii) of paragraph (3)(A) shall be appointed for a term of 4 years.’.

(b) CHAIRPERSON- Section 5135(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

‘(6) CHAIRPERSON- The Chairperson of the Advisory Committee shall be elected by the members of the Advisory Committee from among such members.’.

SEC. 104. COMMEMORATIVE CIRCULATING COIN PROGRAM.

(a) IN GENERAL- The Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee shall develop a recommendation for a multiyear commemorative coin program involving the circulating coins of the United States which would supersede other commemorative coin programs for the years the commemorative circulating coin program is in effect.

(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS- The Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee shall submit a report to the Congress before the end of the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act on the recommendations developed by the committee pursuant to subsection (a), together with such recommendations for legislative or administrative action as the committee determines to be necessary or appropriate with respect to such recommendations.

TITLE II--PLATINUM AND GOLD BULLION COINS

SEC. 201. PLATINUM COINS.

(a) IN GENERAL- Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

‘(k) PLATINUM COINS-

‘(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury may mint and issue platinum coins in such quantity and of such variety as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

‘(2) SPECIFICATIONS- Platinum coins minted under this subsection shall meet such specifications with respect to diameter, weight, design, and fineness as the Secretary, in the Secretary’s discretion, may prescribe from time to time.

‘(3) LEGAL TENDER- The coins minted under this subsection shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.

‘(4) NUMISMATIC ITEMS- For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this subsection shall be considered to be numismatic items.

‘(5) DESIGNATIONS AND INSCRIPTIONS- On each coin minted under this subsection, there shall be--

‘(A) a designation of the value of the coin and the weight of the platinum content of the coin;

‘(B) an inscription of the year in which the coin is minted or issued; and

‘(C) inscriptions of the words ‘Liberty’, ‘In God We Trust’, ‘United States of America’, and ‘E Pluribus Unum’.

‘(6) SALE PRICE-

‘(A) BULLION- The bullion versions of the coins issued under this Act shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--

‘(i) the market value of the bullion at the time of the sale; and

‘(ii) the cost of minting, marketing, and distributing the coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and promotional and overhead expenses).

‘(B) PROOF VERSIONS- Proof versions of the coins issued under this Act may be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--

‘(i) the cost of designing and issuing the coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping); and

‘(ii) a reasonable profit.

‘(7) BULK SALES- The Secretary may make bulk sales of the coins issued under this subsection at a reasonable discount.’.

(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT- Section 5112(j)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘, (i), or (k)’ after ‘subsection (e)’.

SEC. 202. AMERICAN EAGLE GOLD COINS AUTHORIZED TO BE PRODUCED IN 2 OR MORE DESIGNS, WEIGHTS, DIAMETERS, OR FINENESSES SIMULTANEOUSLY.

Section 5112(i)(4) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

‘(C) CONTINUED MINTING TO STATUTORY SPECIFICATIONS AFTER DETERMINATION TO MINT COINS TO CHANGED SPECIFICATIONS- Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Secretary may continue to mint and issue coins in accordance with the specifications contained in paragraphs (7), (8), (9), and (10) of subsection (a) and paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection at the same time the Secretary is minting and issuing other coins under this subsection in accordance with such specifications, varieties, quantities, designations, and inscriptions as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate.’.

TITLE III--MINT MANAGERIAL STAFFING REFORM

SEC. 301. MODERNIZATION OF THE MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE.

Section 5131 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--

(1) by striking subsection (c); and

(2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (c).

Passed the House of Representatives December 5, 1995.

Attest:

ROBIN H. CARLE,

Clerk.

By Linda Nave,

Deputy Clerk.

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