TITLE 7 - US CODE - CHAPTER 14 - AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS

TITLE 7 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER I - GENERAL PROVISIONS

7 USC 361 - Repealed. Aug. 11, 1955, ch. 790, 2, 69 Stat. 674

Section, acts Mar. 16, 1906, ch. 951, 4, 34 Stat. 64; Feb. 24, 1925, ch. 308, 4, 43 Stat. 971, provided for the administration of the agricultural experiment station program. See section 361g of this title.

7 USC 361a - Congressional declaration of purpose; definitions

It is the policy of Congress to continue the agricultural research at State agricultural experiment stations which has been encouraged and supported by the Hatch Act of 1887 [7 U.S.C. 361a et seq.], the Adams Act of 1906, the Purnell Act of 1925, the Bankhead-Jones Act of 1935, and title I, section 9, of that Act as added by the Act of August 14, 1946, and Acts amendatory and supplementary thereto, and to promote the efficiency of such research by a codification and simplification of such laws. As used in this Act [7 U.S.C. 361a et seq.], the terms State or States are defined to include the several States (including the District of Columbia), Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands. As used in this Act [7 U.S.C. 361a et seq.], the term State agricultural experiment station means a department which shall have been established, under direction of the college or university or agricultural departments of the college or university in each State in accordance with an Act approved July 2, 1862, (12 Stat. 503), entitled An Act donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts [7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.]; or such other substantially equivalent arrangements as any State shall determine.

7 USC 361b - Congressional statement of policy; researches, investigations and experiments

It is further the policy of the Congress to promote the efficient production, marketing, distribution, and utilization of products of the farm as essential to the health and welfare of our peoples and to promote a sound and prosperous agriculture and rural life as indispensable to the maintenance of maximum employment and national prosperity and security. It is also the intent of Congress to assure agriculture a position in research equal to that of industry, which will aid in maintaining an equitable balance between agriculture and other segments of our economy. It shall be the object and duty of the State agricultural experiment stations through the expenditure of the appropriations hereinafter authorized to conduct original and other researches, investigations, and experiments bearing directly on and contributing to the establishment and maintenance of a permanent and effective agricultural industry of the United States, including researches basic to the problems of agriculture in its broadest aspects, and such investigations as have for their purpose the development and improvement of the rural home and rural life and the maximum contribution by agriculture to the welfare of the consumer, as may be deemed advisable, having due regard to the varying conditions and needs of the respective States.

7 USC 361c - Authorization of appropriations and allotments of grants

(a) Authorization
There are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of sections 361a to 361i of this title such sums as Congress may from time to time determine to be necessary.

(b) Allotments to States; authorization of appropriations for Virgin Islands and Guam; limitation

(1) Out of such sums each State shall be entitled to receive annually a sum of money equal to and subject to the same requirement as to use for marketing research projects as the sums received from Federal appropriations for State agricultural experiment stations for the fiscal year 1955, except that amounts heretofore made available from the fund known as the Regional research fund, Office of Experiment Stations shall continue to be available for the support of cooperative regional projects as defined in subsection (c)(3) of this section, and the said fund shall be designated Regional research fund, State agricultural experiment stations, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall be entitled to receive annually for the administration of sections 361a to 361i of this title, a sum not less than that available for this purpose for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1955: Provided, That if the appropriations hereunder available for distribution in any fiscal year are less than those for the fiscal year 1955 the allotment to each State and the amounts for Federal administration and the regional research fund shall be reduced in proportion to the amount of such reduction.

(2) There is authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1973, and for each fiscal year thereafter, for payment to the Virgin Islands and Guam, $100,000 each, which sums shall be in addition to the sums appropriated for the several States of the United States and Puerto Rico under the provisions of this section. The amount paid by the Federal Government to the Virgin Islands and Guam pursuant to this paragraph shall not exceed during any fiscal year, except the fiscal years ending June 30, 1971, and June 30, 1972, when such amount may be used to pay the total cost of providing services pursuant to sections 361a to 361i of this title, the amount available and budgeted for expenditure by the Virgin Islands and Guam for the purposes of such sections.

(c) Allotment of additional sums
Any sums made available by the Congress in addition to those provided for in subsection (b) of this section for State agricultural experiment station work shall be distributed as follows:

(1) Twenty per centum shall be allotted equally to each State;

(2) Not less than 52 per centum of such sums shall be allotted to each State, as follows: One-half in an amount which bears the same ratio to the total amount to be allotted as the rural population of the State bears to the total rural population of all the States as determined by the last preceding decennial census current at the time each such additional sum is first appropriated; and one-half in an amount which bears the same ratio to the total amount to be allotted as the farm population of the State bears to the total farm population of all the States as determined by the last preceding decennial census current at the time such additional sum is first appropriated;

(3) Not less than 25 percent shall be allotted to the States for cooperative research employing multidisciplinary approaches in which a State agricultural experiment station, working with another State agricultural experiment station, the Agricultural Research Service, or a college or university, cooperates to solve problems that concern more than 1 State. The funds available under this paragraph, together with the funds available under subsection (b) of this section for a similar purpose, shall be designated as the Multistate Research Fund, State Agricultural Experiment Stations.

(4) Three per centum shall be available to the Secretary of Agriculture for administration of sections 361a to 361i of this title. These administrative funds may be used for transportation of scientists who are not officers or employees of the United States to research meetings convened for the purpose of assessing research opportunities or research planning.

(d) Matching funds

(1) Requirement
Except as provided in paragraph (4), no allotment shall be made to a State under subsection (b) or (c) of this section, and no payments from the allotment shall be made to a State, in excess of the amount that the State makes available out of non-Federal funds for agricultural research and for the establishment and maintenance of facilities for the performance of the research.

(2) Failure to provide matching funds
If a State fails to comply with the requirement to provide matching funds for a fiscal year under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Agriculture shall withhold from payment to the State for that fiscal year an amount equal to the difference between

(A) the amount that would be allotted and paid to the State under subsections (b) and (c) of this section (if the full amount of matching funds were provided by the State); and

(B) the amount of matching funds actually provided by the State.

(3) Reapportionment

(A) In general
The Secretary of Agriculture shall reapportion amounts withheld under paragraph (2) for a fiscal year among the States satisfying the matching requirement for that fiscal year.

(B) Matching requirement
Any reapportionment of funds under this paragraph shall be subject to the matching requirement specified in paragraph (1).

(4) Exception for insular areas and the District of Columbia

(A) In general
Effective beginning for fiscal year 2003, in lieu of the matching funds requirement of paragraph (1), the insular areas of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States and the District of Columbia shall provide matching funds from non-Federal sources in an amount equal to not less than 50 percent of the formula funds distributed by the Secretary to each of the insular areas, respectively, and the District of Columbia under this section.

(B) Waivers
The Secretary may waive the matching fund requirement of subparagraph (A) for any fiscal year if the Secretary determines that the government of the insular area or the District of Columbia will be unlikely to meet the matching requirement for the fiscal year.

(e) “Administration” defined
Administration as used in this section shall include participation in planning and coordinating cooperative regional research as defined in subsection (c)(3) of this section.

(f) Adjustment of payments
In making payments to States, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to adjust any such payment to the nearest dollar.

(g) Reductions and reapportionments
If in any year the amount made available by a State from its own funds (including any revenue-sharing funds) to a State agricultural experiment station is reduced because of an increase in the allotment made available under sections 361a to 361i of this title, the allotment to the State agricultural experiment station from the appropriation in the next succeeding fiscal year shall be reduced in an equivalent amount. The Secretary shall reapportion the amount of such reduction to other States for use by their agricultural experiment stations.

(h) Peer review and plan of work

(1) Peer review
Research carried out under subsection (c)(3) of this section shall be subject to scientific peer review. The review of a project conducted under this paragraph shall be considered to satisfy the merit review requirements of section 7613 (e) of this title.

(2) Plan of work
The State shall include in the plan of work of the State required under section 361g of this title a description of the manner in which the State will meet the requirements of subsection (c)(3) of this section.

(i) Integration of research and extension

(1) In general
Not less than the applicable percentage specified under paragraph (2) of the Federal formula funds that are paid under sections 361a to 361i of this title and subsections (b) and (c) of section 343 of this title to colleges and universities eligible to receive funds under the Act of July 2, 1862 (12 Stat. 503, chapter 130; 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), during a fiscal year shall be expended for activities that integrate cooperative research and extension (referred to in this subsection as integrated activities).

(2) Applicable percentages

(A) 1997 expenditures on multistate activities
Of the Federal formula funds that were paid to each State for fiscal year 1997 under sections 361a to 361i of this title and subsections (b) and (c) of section 343 of this title, the Secretary of Agriculture shall determine the percentage that the State expended for integrated activities.

(B) Required expenditures on multistate activities
Of the Federal formula funds that are paid to each State for fiscal year 2000 and each subsequent fiscal year under sections 361a to 361i of this title and subsections (b) and (c) of section 343 of this title, the State shall expend for the fiscal year for integrated activities a percentage that is at least equal to the lesser of

(i) 25 percent; or

(ii) twice the percentage for the State determined under subparagraph (A).

(C) Reduction by Secretary
The Secretary of Agriculture may reduce the minimum percentage required to be expended by a State for integrated activities under subparagraph (B) in a case of hardship, infeasibility, or other similar circumstance beyond the control of the State, as determined by the Secretary.

(D) Plan of work
The State shall include in the plan of work of the State required under section 361g of this title or section 344 of this title, as applicable, a description of the manner in which the State will meet the requirements of this paragraph.

(3) Applicability
This subsection does not apply to funds provided

(A) by a State or local government pursuant to a matching requirement;

(B) to a 1994 Institution (as defined in section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (Public Law 103382; 7 U.S.C. 301 note )); or

(4) Relationship to other requirements
Federal formula funds described in paragraph (1) that are used by a State for a fiscal year for integrated activities in accordance with paragraph (2)(B) may also be used to satisfy the multistate activities requirements of subsection (c)(3) of this section and section 343 (h) of this title for the same fiscal year.

7 USC 361d - Use of funds

Moneys appropriated pursuant to sections 361a to 361i of this title shall also be available, in addition to meeting expenses for research and investigations conducted under authority of section 361b of this title, for printing and disseminating the results of such research, retirement of employees subject to the provisions of section 331 of this title, administrative planning and direction, and for the purchase and rental of land and the construction, acquisition, alteration, or repair of buildings necessary for conducting research. The State agricultural experiment stations are authorized to plan and conduct any research authorized under section 361b of this title in cooperation with each other and such other agencies and individuals as may contribute to the solution of the agricultural problems involved, and moneys appropriated pursuant to sections 361a to 361i of this title shall be available for paying the necessary expenses of planning, coordinating, and conducting such cooperative research.

7 USC 361e - Payment of allotments to State agricultural experiment stations; directors and treasurers or other officers; accounting; reports to Secretary; replacement by States of diminished, lost or misapplied allotments; subsequent allotments or paymen

Sums available for allotment to the States under the terms of sections 361a to 361i of this title, excluding the Multistate Research Fund, State Agricultural Experiment Stations, shall be paid to each State agricultural experiment station in equal quarterly payments beginning on the first day of October of each fiscal year upon vouchers approved by the Secretary of Agriculture. Each such station authorized to receive allotted funds shall have a chief administrative officer known as a director, and a treasurer or other officer appointed by the governing board of the station. Such treasurer or other officer shall receive and account for all funds allotted to the State under the provisions of sections 361a to 361i of this title and shall report, with the approval of the director, to the Secretary of Agriculture on or before the first day of December of each year a detailed statement of the amount received under provisions of said sections during the preceding fiscal year, and of its disbursement on schedules prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture. If any portion of the allotted moneys received by the authorized receiving officer of any State agricultural experiment station shall by any action or contingency be diminished, lost, or misapplied, it shall be replaced by the State concerned and until so replaced no subsequent appropriation shall be allotted or paid to such State.

7 USC 361f - Publications of experiment stations; free mailing

Bulletins, reports, periodicals, reprints of articles, and other publications necessary for the dissemination of results of the researches and experiments, including lists of publications available for distribution by the experiment stations, shall be transmitted in the mails of the United States. Such publications may be mailed from the principal place of business of the station or from an established subunit of said station.

7 USC 361g - Duties of Secretary; ascertainment of entitlement of State to funds; plans of work

(a) Duties of Secretary
The Secretary of Agriculture is charged with the responsibility for the proper administration of sections 361a to 361i of this title, and is authorized and directed to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out its provisions. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to furnish such advice and assistance as will best promote the purposes of said sections, including participation in coordination of research initiated under said sections by the State agricultural experiment stations, from time to time to indicate such lines of inquiry as to him seem most important, and to encourage and assist in the establishment and maintenance of cooperation by and between the several State agricultural experiment stations, and between the stations and the United States Department of Agriculture.

(b) Ascertainment of entitlement
On or before the first day of October in each year after the passage of sections 361a to 361i of this title, the Secretary of Agriculture shall ascertain as to each State whether it is entitled to receive its share of the annual appropriations for agricultural experiment stations under said sections and the amount which thereupon each is entitled, respectively, to receive.

(1) In general
The balance of any annual funds provided under sections 361a to 361i of this title to a State agricultural experiment station for a fiscal year that remains unexpended at the end of the fiscal year may be carried over for use during the following fiscal year.

(2) Failure to expend full allotment

(A) In general
If any unexpended balance carried over by a State is not expended by the end of the second fiscal year, an amount equal to the unexpended balance shall be deducted from the next succeeding annual allotment to the State.

(B) Redistribution
Federal funds that are deducted under subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year shall be redistributed by the Secretary in accordance with the formula set forth in section 361c (c) of this title to those States for which no deduction under subparagraph (A) has been taken for that fiscal year.

(d) Plan of work required
Before funds may be provided to a State under sections 361a to 361i of this title for any fiscal year, a plan of work to be carried out under sections 361a to 361i of this title shall be submitted by the proper officials of the State and shall be approved by the Secretary of Agriculture.

(e) Requirements related to plan of work
Each plan of work for a State required under subsection (d) of this section shall contain descriptions of the following:

(1) The critical short-term, intermediate, and long-term agricultural issues in the State and the current and planned research programs and projects targeted to address the issues.

(2) The process established to consult with users of agricultural research regarding the identification of critical agricultural issues in the State and the development of research programs and projects targeted to address the issues.

(3) The efforts made to identify and collaborate with other colleges and universities within the State, and within other States, that have a unique capacity to address the identified agricultural issues in the State and the extent of current and emerging efforts (including regional efforts) to work with those other institutions.

(4) The manner in which research and extension, including research and extension activities funded other than through formula funds, will cooperate to address the critical issues in the State, including the activities to be carried out separately, the activities to be carried out sequentially, and the activities to be carried out jointly.

(f) Research protocols

(1) Development
The Secretary of Agriculture shall develop protocols to be used to evaluate the success of multistate, multi-institutional, and multidisciplinary research activities and joint research and extension activities in addressing critical agricultural issues identified in the plans of work submitted under subsection (d) of this section.

(2) Consultation
The Secretary of Agriculture shall develop the protocols in consultation with the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board established under section 3123 of this title and land-grant colleges and universities.

(g) Treatment of plans of work for other purposes
To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall consider a plan of work submitted under subsection (d) of this section to satisfy other appropriate Federal reporting requirements.

7 USC 361h - Relation of college or university to State unaffected; division of appropriations

Nothing in sections 361a to 361i of this title shall be construed to impair or modify the legal relation existing between any of the colleges or universities under whose direction State agricultural experiment stations have been established and the government of the States in which they are respectively located. States having agricultural experiment stations separate from such colleges or universities and established by law, shall be authorized to apply such benefits to research at stations so established by such States: Provided, That in any State in which more than one such college, university, or agricultural experiment station has been established the appropriations made pursuant to sections 361a to 361i of this title for such State shall be divided between such institutions as the legislature of such State shall direct.

7 USC 361i - Power to amend, repeal, etc., reserved

The Congress may at any time, amend, suspend, or repeal any or all of the provisions of sections 361a to 361i of this title.

362, 363. Transferred

7 USC 364 - Repealed. Aug. 11, 1955, ch. 790, 2, 69 Stat. 675

Section, act Mar. 2, 1889, ch. 373, 25 Stat. 840, required all agricultural experiment stations to devote a portion of their work to the examination and classification of the soils of their respective States and Territories.

7 USC 365 - Transferred

7 USC 366 - Repealed. Aug. 11, 1955, ch. 790, 2, 69 Stat. 674

Section, acts Mar. 16, 1906, ch. 951, 3, 34 Stat. 63; Feb. 24, 1925, ch. 308, 3, 43 Stat. 971, provided for annual reports by agricultural experiment stations to governors.

7 USC 367 - Omitted

368 to 368b. Transferred

7 USC 368c - Omitted

369 to 376. Repealed. Aug. 11, 1955, ch. 790, 2, 69 Stat. 674

Section 369, act Mar. 16, 1906, ch. 951, 1, 34 Stat. 63, authorized annual appropriations for agricultural experiment stations. See section 361c of this title. Section 369a, acts June 20, 1936, ch. 631, 1, 2, 49 Stat. 1553, 1554; Aug. 29, 1950, ch. 820, 64 Stat. 563, extended provisions of former sections 343a, 343b, 361, 366, 369, 370, 371, 373 to 376, 380, and 382 of this title to Alaska. See section 361a of this title. Section 370, act Feb. 24, 1925, ch. 308, 1, 43 Stat. 970, authorized an additional appropriation of $60,000 for each fiscal year. See section 361c of this title. Section 371, acts Mar. 16, 1906, ch. 951, 2, 34 Stat. 63; Feb. 24, 1925, ch. 308, 2, 43 Stat. 971, made grants of money authorized for agricultural experiment stations subject to the legislative assent of the several States and Territories. Section 372, act June 7, 1888, ch. 373, 25 Stat. 176, provided for assent to installments of appropriations when the legislature is not in session. Section 373, acts Mar. 16, 1906, ch. 951, 2, 34 Stat. 63; Feb. 24, 1925, ch. 308, 2, 43 Stat. 971, prescribed the time and manner of payments to agricultural experiment stations and required a report of expenditures to the Secretary of Agriculture. See sections 361c and 361e of this title. Section 374, acts Mar. 16, 1906, ch. 951, 3, 34 Stat. 63; Feb. 24, 1925, ch. 308, 3, 43 Stat. 971, required the State to replace moneys misapplied. See section 361e of this title. Section 375, acts Mar. 16, 1906, ch. 951, 3, 34 Stat. 63; Feb. 24, 1925, ch. 308, 3, 43 Stat. 971, permitted use of funds for purchase, repairs, etc., of buildings, or for purchase or rental of lands. See section 361d of this title. Section 376, acts Mar. 16, 1906, ch. 951, 4, 34 Stat. 64; Feb. 24, 1925, ch. 308, 4, 43 Stat. 971, provided for certification of amounts due States for agricultural experiment stations, for withholding certificate, and for redress by Congress. See section 361g of this title.

377 to 379. Transferred

7 USC 380 - Repealed. Aug. 11, 1955, ch. 790, 2, 69 Stat. 674

Section, acts Mar. 16, 1906, ch. 951, 5, 34 Stat. 64; Feb. 24, 1925, ch. 308, 5, 43 Stat. 972, provided for an annual report to Congress. See section 361g of this title.

7 USC 381 - Omitted

382, 383. Repealed. Aug. 11, 1955, ch. 790, 2, 69 Stat. 674, 675

Section 382, acts Mar. 16, 1906, ch. 951, 6, 34 Stat. 64; Feb. 24, 1925, ch. 308, 6, 43 Stat. 972, reserved the right to Congress to amend, suspend or repeal any and all of the provisions of act Mar. 16, 1906. See section 361i of this title. Section 383, act Oct. 1, 1918, ch. 178, 40 Stat. 998, authorized appropriations for the Georgia Experiment Station. See section 361c of this title.

7 USC 384 - Card index of agricultural literature; copies to be furnished by Secretary

The Secretary of Agriculture may furnish to such institutions or individuals as may care to buy them copies of the card index of agricultural literature prepared by the Department of Agriculture in connection with its administration of the Act of March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven [7 U.S.C. 361a et seq.], and the Act of March sixteenth, nineteen hundred and six, and the Acts amendatory of and supplementary thereto, and charge for the same a price covering the additional expenses involved in the preparation of these copies, the money received from such sales to be deposited in the Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous receipts.

7 USC 385 - South Carolina Experiment Station; cooperation by Secretary of Agriculture; lump sum appropriation

There is authorized to be appropriated the sum of $50,000 to enable the Secretary of Agriculture to cooperate with the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station and/or other agencies in making investigations and experiments in dairying and livestock industries and of the problems pertaining to the establishment and development of such industries, including cropping systems, soil improvement, and farm organization studies of such industries, and for demonstration, assistance, and service in developing the agriculture of the Sand Hill region of the Southeast.

7 USC 385a - Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated each fiscal year necessary appropriations to enable the Secretary of Agriculture to carry on the cooperative experiments contemplated by section 385 of this title.

386 to 386f. Repealed. Aug. 11, 1955, ch. 790, 2, 69 Stat. 674

Sections 386 to 386b, act May 16, 1928, ch. 575, 13, 45 Stat. 571, 572, provided for establishment of an experiment station in Hawaii, authorized appropriations and an increase in permanent annual appropriations. See sections 361a and 361c of this title. Section 386c, act Feb. 23, 1929, ch. 299, 45 Stat. 1256, extended provisions of agricultural experiment station program to Alaska. See section 361a of this title. Sections 386d to 386f, acts Mar. 4, 1931, ch. 499, 13, 46 Stat. 1520, 1521; May 17, 1932, ch. 190, 47 Stat. 158, provided for establishment of an experiment station in Puerto Rico, authorized appropriations and an increase in permanent annual appropriations. See sections 361a and 361c of this title.

7 USC 386g - Repealed. Oct. 31, 1951, ch. 654, 1(10), 65 Stat. 701

Section, act July 7, 1932, ch. 443, 1, 47 Stat. 614, related to transfer or sale of property of Alaska, Guam, and Virgin Islands stations.

TITLE 7 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER II - EXPERIMENT STATIONS FOR PROPAGATION OF TREES, SHRUBS, VINES, AND VEGETABLES

7 USC 387 - Station for semi-arid or dry-land regions; establishment

The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized and directed to cause such shade, ornamental, fruit, and shelter-belt trees, shrubs, vines, and vegetables as are adapted to the conditions and needs of the semi-arid or dry-land regions of the United States, to be propagated at an experiment station of the Department of Agriculture to be established at or near Cheyenne, Wyoming, and seedlings, and cuttings and seeds of such trees, shrubs, vines, and vegetables to be distributed free of charge under such regulations as he may prescribe for experimental and demonstration purposes within the semi-arid or dry-land regions of the United States.

7 USC 387a - Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated each fiscal year necessary appropriations to enable the Secretary of Agriculture to carry on the experiments contemplated by section 387 of this title.

7 USC 388 - Station for southern Great Plains area; establishment

The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized and directed to cause such shade, ornamental, fruit, and shelter-belt trees, shrubs, and vines as are adapted to the conditions and needs of the southern Great Plains area, comprised of those parts of the States of Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico lying west of the ninety-eighth meridian and east of the five thousand-foot contour line, to be propagated at one of the existing field stations of the Department of Agriculture in such area, and seedlings and cuttings and seeds of such trees, shrubs, and vines to be distributed free of charge under such regulations as he may prescribe for experimental and demonstration purposes within such area.

7 USC 388a - Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated each fiscal year necessary appropriations to enable the Secretary of Agriculture to carry on the experiments contemplated by section 388 of this title.

7 USC 389 - Transfer of certain dry land and irrigation field stations to States

The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized, at such times as he deems appropriate, to convey by appropriate conveyances, without consideration, the interest of the United States in the lands, including water rights, buildings, and improvements presently comprising or appurtenant to the following dry land and irrigation field stations, to the States in which such stations are located, when, in the opinion of the Secretary of Agriculture, the transfer of any such station will result in establishing a more effective program in the cooperative agricultural experimental work of the Department of Agriculture and the respective State and the furtherance of agricultural experimental work on a national or regional basis will be better served by such transfer: Huntley, Montana; Mitchell, Nebraska; Fallon, Nevada; Tucumcari, New Mexico; Hermiston, Oregon; Sheridan, Wyoming: Provided, That when any or all of the land, including water rights, comprising any such station is public-domain land, only the Secretary of the Interior may by patent or other appropriate conveyance transfer such lands to the respective States: Provided further, That when any easement necessary to a station conveyed or patented hereunder is on public-domain lands, only the Secretary of the Interior may grant such easements to the State to which the station has been conveyed.

7 USC 389a - Conditions of transfer of dry land and irrigation field stations; reservation of mineral rights

Conveyances or patents under this section and section 389 of this title shall be upon such conditions as in the opinion of the Secretary of Agriculture will assure the use of such station in the cooperative agricultural experimental work of the Department of Agriculture and the respective State. Any such conveyances of the land shall contain a reservation to the United States of all the minerals in the land together with the right to prospect for, mine, and remove the same under such regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe.

TITLE 7 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER III - RESEARCH FACILITIES

7 USC 390 - Definitions

In this subchapter:

(1) Agricultural research facility
The term agricultural research facility means a proposed facility for research in food and agricultural sciences for which Federal funds are requested by a college, university, or nonprofit">nonprofit institution to assist in the construction, alteration, acquisition, modernization, renovation, or remodeling of the facility.

(2) Congressional agriculture committees
The term congressional agriculture committees means the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.

(3) Food and agricultural sciences
The term food and agricultural sciences has the meaning given that term in section 3103 of this title.

(4) Secretary
The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.

7 USC 390a - Review process

(a) Submission to Secretary
Each proposal for an agricultural research facility shall be submitted to the Secretary for review. The Secretary shall review the proposals in the order in which the proposals are received.

(b) Application process
In consultation with the congressional agriculture committees, the Secretary shall establish an application process for the submission of proposals for agricultural research facilities.

(1) Determination by Secretary
With respect to each proposal for an agricultural research facility submitted under subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall determine whether the proposal meets the criteria set forth in paragraph (2).

(2) Criteria
A proposal for an agricultural research facility shall meet the following criteria:

(A) Non-Federal share
The proposal shall certify the availability of at least a 50 percent non-Federal share of the cost of the facility. The non-Federal share shall be paid in cash and may include funding from private sources or from units of State or local government.

(B) Nonduplication of facilities
The proposal shall demonstrate how the agricultural research facility would be complementary to, and not duplicative of, facilities of colleges, universities, and nonprofit">nonprofit institutions, and facilities of the Agricultural Research Service, within the State and region.

(i) 1 or more of the national research policies and priorities set forth in section 3101 of this title; and

(ii) national or multistate needs.

(D) Long-term support
The proposal shall demonstrate that the recipient college, university, or nonprofit">nonprofit institution has the ability and commitment to support the long-term, ongoing operating costs of

(i) the agricultural research facility after the facility is completed; and

(ii) each program to be based at the facility.

(d) Evaluation of proposals
Not later than 90 days after receiving a proposal under subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall

(1) evaluate and assess the merits of the proposal, including the extent to which the proposal meets the criteria set forth in subsection (c) of this section; and

(2) report to the congressional agriculture committees on the results of the evaluation and assessment.

(e) National or multistate needs served by ARS facilities
The Secretary shall ensure that each research activity conducted by a facility of the Agricultural Research Service serves a national or multistate need.

7 USC 390b - Repealed. Pub. L. 107171, title VII, 7308(a), May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 455

Section, Pub. L. 88–74, § 4, as added Pub. L. 104–127, title VIII, § 884(a), Apr. 4, 1996, 110 Stat. 1178; amended Pub. L. 105–185, title I, § 106(c), (d), June 23, 1998, 112 Stat. 530, related to task force on 10year strategic plan for agricultural research facilities. A prior section 390b, Pub. L. 88–74, § 3, July 22, 1963, 77 Stat. 90; Pub. L. 95–113, title XIV, § 1416(1), Sept. 29, 1977, 91 Stat. 994; Pub. L. 99–198, title XIV, § 1411(c), Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1547, related to definitions, prior to the general amendment of this subchapter by Pub. L. 104–127. A prior section 4 of Pub. L. 88–74 was classified to section 390c of this title prior to the general amendment of this subchapter by Pub. L. 104–127.

7 USC 390c - Applicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act

The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and title XVIII of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2281 et seq.) shall not apply to a panel or board created solely for the purpose of reviewing applications or proposals submitted under this subchapter.

7 USC 390d - Authorization of appropriations

(a) In general
Subject to subsection (b) of this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 1996 through 2012 for the study, plan, design, structure, and related costs of agricultural research facilities under this subchapter.

(b) Allowable administrative costs
Not more than 3 percent of the funds made available for any project for an agricultural research facility shall be available for administration of the project.