US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

16 U.S.C. § 1401

Establishment

(a)

Designation

There is hereby established the Marine Mammal Commission (hereafter referred to in this subchapter as the “Commission”).

(b)

Membership and term of office

(1)
Effective , the Commission shall be composed of three members who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President shall make his selection from a list of individuals knowledgeable in the fields of marine ecology and resource management, and who are not in a position to profit from the taking of marine mammals. Such list shall be submitted to him by the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality and unanimously agreed to by that Chairman, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the Director of the National Science Foundation and the Chairman of the National Academy of Sciences. No member of the Commission may, during his period of service on the Commission, hold any other position as an officer or employee of the United States except as a retired officer or retired civilian employee of the United States.
(2)
The term of office for each member shall be three years; except that of the members initially appointed to the Commission, the term of one member shall be for one year, the term of one member shall be for two years, and the term of one member shall be for three years. No member is eligible for reappointment; except that any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed (A) shall be appointed for the remainder of such term, and (B) is eligible for reappointment for one full term. A member may serve after the expiration of his term until his successor has taken office.
(c)

Chairman

The President shall designate a Chairman of the Commission (hereafter referred to in this subchapter as the “Chairman”) from among its members.

(d)

Compensation; reimbursement for travel expenses

section 5332 of title 5section 5703 of title 5Members of the Commission shall each be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the rate for GS–18 of the General Schedule under , for each day such member is engaged in the actual performance of duties vested in the Commission. Each member shall be reimbursed for travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by for persons in Government service employed intermittently.

(e)

Executive Director

section 5332 of title 5The Commission shall have an Executive Director, who shall be appointed (without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service) by the Chairman with the approval of the Commission and shall be paid at a rate not in excess of the rate for GS–18 of the General Schedule under . The Executive Director shall have such duties as the Chairman may assign.

Pub. L. 92–522, title II, § 20186 Stat. 1043Pub. L. 97–389, title II, § 20296 Stat. 1951Pub. L. 98–364, title I, § 103(a)98 Stat. 441(, , ; , , ; , , .)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Pub. L. 98–3641984—Subsec. (b)(1). substituted “The President shall make his selection from a list of individuals knowledgeable in the fields of marine ecology and resource management, and who are not in a position to profit from the taking of marine mammals. Such list shall be submitted to him by the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality and unanimously agreed to by that Chairman, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the Director of the National Science Foundation and the Chairman of the National Academy of Sciences” for “The President shall make his selection from a list, submitted to him by the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the Director of the National Science Foundation, and the Chairman of the National Academy of Sciences, of individuals knowledgeable in the fields of marine ecology and resource management, and who are not in a position to profit from the taking of marine mammals”.

Pub. L. 97–3891982—Subsec. (b)(1). inserted requirement that, effective , the three members of the Commission be appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

section 4 of Pub. L. 92–522section 1361 of this titleSection effective upon the expiration of the sixty-day period following , see , set out as a note under .

References in Other Laws to GS–16, 17, or 18 Pay Rates

Pub. L. 101–509section 5376 of Title 5References in laws to the rates of pay for GS–16, 17, or 18, or to maximum rates of pay under the General Schedule, to be considered references to rates payable under specified sections of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, see section 529 [title I, § 101(c)(1)] of , set out in a note under .