15 U.S.C. § 275 — Hiring critical technical experts

Page 659 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 275 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘subsection’’. and Technology (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Under Secretary’’). (b) Appointment The Under Secretary shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. (c) Compensation The Under Secretary shall be compensated at the rate in effect for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5. (d) Duties The Under Secretary shall serve as the Direc- tor of the Institute and shall perform such du- ties as required of the Director by the Secretary under this chapter or by law. (e) Applicability The individual serving as the Director of the Institute on January 4, 2011, shall also serve as the Under Secretary until such time as a suc- cessor is appointed under subsection (b). (Mar. 3, 1901, ch. 872, § 4, as added Pub. L. 111–358, title IV, § 403(a), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 4000.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 4 of act Mar. 3, 1901, ch. 872, 31 Stat. 1449, which was not classified to the Code, was repealed. § 274. Director; powers and duties; report; com- pensation The Director shall report directly to the Sec- retary and shall have the general supervision of the Institute, its equipment, and the exercise of its functions. The Director shall make an an- nual report to the Secretary of Commerce. The Director may issue, when necessary, bulletins for public distribution, containing such informa- tion as may be of value to the public or facili- tate the exercise of the functions of the Insti- tute. (Mar. 3, 1901, ch. 872, § 5, 31 Stat. 1449; Pub. L. 99–73, § 6(a), July 29, 1985, 99 Stat. 172; Pub. L. 100–418, title V, § 5112(c)(1), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1431; Pub. L. 110–69, title III, § 3002(c)(2)(B), Aug. 9, 2007, 121 Stat. 586; Pub. L. 111–358, title IV, § 403(b)(2), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 4000.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2011—Pub. L. 111–358 struck out at beginning ‘‘The Di- rector shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.’’ and struck out at end ‘‘The Director shall be compensated at the rate in effect for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5. Until such time as the Director assumes office under this section, the most recent Di- rector of the National Bureau of Standards shall serve as Director.’’ 2007—Pub. L. 110–69 substituted ‘‘The Director shall report directly to the Secretary and shall have the gen- eral’’ for ‘‘The Director shall have the general’’. 1988—Pub. L. 100–418 amended section generally, sub- stituting provisions relating to appointment, powers and duties, and compensation of, and reports by, Direc- tor of the Institute for similar provisions relating to Director of the Bureau of Standards, striking out re- quirement that the annual report include an abstract of the work done during the year and a financial state- ment, and inserting provision that until such time as the Director assumes office under this section, the most recent Director of the National Bureau of Stand- ards shall serve as Director. 1985—Pub. L. 99–73 substituted ‘‘The Director’’ for ‘‘He’’ at beginning of second, third, and fourth sen- tences, and inserted provisions relating to compensa- tion for the Director. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1985 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 99–73 effective Oct. 1, 1985, see section 6(c) of Pub. L. 99–73, set out as a note under sec- tion 5315 of Title 5, Government Organization and Em- ployees. § 275. Hiring critical technical experts (a) In general The officers and employees of the Institute, except the director, shall be appointed by the Secretary at such time as their respective serv- ices may become necessary. (b) Hiring critical technical experts Notwithstanding section 3104 of title 5 or the provisions of any other law relating to the ap- pointment, number, classification, or compensa- tion of employees, the Secretary shall have the authority to make appointments of scientific, engineering, and professional personnel, and to fix the basic pay of such personnel at a rate to be determined by the Secretary at rates not in excess of the highest total annual compensation payable at the rate determined under section 104 of title 3. The Director shall appoint not more than 15 personnel under this section. (c) Sunset The authority under section 1 (b) shall expire on the date that is 5 years after August 9, 2022. (Mar. 3, 1901, ch. 872, § 6, 31 Stat. 1450; Feb. 14, 1903, ch. 552, § 10, 32 Stat. 829; Mar. 4, 1913, ch. 141, § 1, 37 Stat. 736; Pub. L. 100–418, title V, § 5115(a)(1), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1433; Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title II, § 10244, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1488.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION August 9, 2022, referred to in subsec. (c), was in the original ‘‘the date of the enactment of this section’’, which was translated as meaning the date of enactment of Pub. L. 117–167, which amended this section gen- erally, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. AMENDMENTS 2022—Pub. L. 117–167 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The officers and employees of the Institute, except the director, shall be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce at such time as their respective services may become necessary.’’ 1988—Pub. L. 100–418 substituted ‘‘Institute’’ for ‘‘bu- reau’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Act Mar. 4, 1913, substituted ‘‘Secretary of Com- merce’’ for ‘‘Secretary of Commerce and Labor’’. Page 660 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 275a 1 See References in Text note below. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Act Feb. 14, 1903, transferred power and authority of Secretary of the Treasury over Bureau of Standards to Secretary of Commerce and Labor. PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMITTENT SERVICES Pub. L. 110–69, title III, § 3009, Aug. 9, 2007, 121 Stat. 592, permitted the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, until Sept. 30, 2010, to pro- cure the temporary or intermittent services of no more than 200 experts or consultants per year to assist with urgent or short-term research projects and required the Comptroller General to submit to Congress, no later than 2 years after Aug. 9, 2007, a report on possible ad- ditional safeguards needed should the authority under this section be made permanent. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT RELATING TO PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Pub. L. 99–574, § 10, Oct. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 3238, as amended by Pub. L. 100–418, title V, § 5115(c), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1433, directed the Office of Personnel Management and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to jointly design an alternative per- sonnel management system demonstration project to be commenced not later than Jan. 1, 1988, and to be conducted by the Director of the Institute in accord- ance with section 4703 of Title 5, Government Organiza- tion and Employees, with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to provide that the project be evaluated annually by a contractor, and a report of the contractor’s findings submitted to the Office, and, along with any comments of the Office and the Insti- tute, submitted to the Congress, and a final report to be submitted to the Congress by the Comptroller Gen- eral not later than 4 years after the date on which the project commences, such report to include any rec- ommendations for legislation or other action consid- ered appropriate by the Comptroller General. [Pub. L. 104–113, § 10, Mar. 7, 1996, 110 Stat. 779, pro- vided that: ‘‘The personnel management demonstration project established under section 10 of the National Bu- reau of Standards Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987 [Pub. L. 99–574] (15 U.S.C. 275 note) is extended in- definitely.’’] § 275a. Service charges The Secretary shall charge for services per- formed under the authority of section 273 of this title, except in cases where he determines that the interest of the Government would be best served by waiving the charge. Such charges may be based upon fixed prices or costs. The appro- priation or fund bearing the cost of the services may be reimbursed, or the Secretary may re- quire advance payment subject to such adjust- ment on completion of the work as may be agreed upon. (Mar. 3, 1901, ch. 872, § 7, as added Aug. 3, 1956, ch. 906, § 1, 70 Stat. 959.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Provisions relating to fees were formerly contained in section 276 of this title. § 275b. Charges for activities performed for other agencies The Secretary of Commerce shall charge for any service performed by the Institute, at the request of another Government agency, in com- pliance with any statute, enacted before, on, or after October 6, 1982, which names the Secretary or the Institute as a consultant to another Gov- ernment agency, or calls upon the Secretary or the Institute to support or perform any activity for or on behalf of another Government agency, or to cooperate with any Government agency in the performance by that agency of any activity, regardless of whether the statute specifically re- quires reimbursement to the Secretary or the Institute by such other Government agency for such service, unless funds are specifically appro- priated to the Secretary or the Institute to per- form such service. The Secretary may, however, waive any charge where the service rendered by the Institute is such that the Institute will incur only nominal costs in performing it. Costs shall be determined in accordance with section 278b(e) of this title. (Pub. L. 97–286, § 8, Oct. 6, 1982, 96 Stat. 1223; Pub. L. 100–418, title V, § 5115(c), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1433.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was not enacted as part of the National Insti- tute of Standards and Technology Act which comprises this chapter. AMENDMENTS 1988—Pub. L. 100–418 substituted ‘‘Institute’’ for ‘‘Bu- reau’’ wherever appearing. § 275c. Cost recovery authority Fees for calibration services, standard ref- erence materials, and other comparable services provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall be at least sufficient to meet the requirements set forth in the amend- ments made by subsection (a),1 and any funds re- covered in excess of such requirements shall be returned to the Treasury of the United States. (Pub. L. 99–73, § 5(b), July 29, 1985, 99 Stat. 172; Pub. L. 100–418, title V, § 5115(c), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1433.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The amendments made by subsection (a), referred to in text, mean the amendments made by subsec. (a) of section 5 of Pub. L. 99–73, which amended section 278b(f) of this title. CODIFICATION Section was not enacted as part of the National Insti- tute and Technology Act which comprises this chapter. AMENDMENTS 1988—Pub. L. 100–418 substituted ‘‘National Institute of Standards and Technology’’ for ‘‘National Bureau of Standards’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 99–73, § 5(c), July 29, 1985, 99 Stat. 172, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by subsection (a) [amending section 278b of this title] (and the provisions of subsection (b) [enacting this section]) shall be effec- tive October 1, 1984.’’