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Executive Order 12308 Constitutional Fidelity (+0.44)

Executive Order 12308—Presidential Task Force on the Arts and Humanities

Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan
•
Friday, June 5, 1981
•
3 min read (510 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Ronald Reagan on 1981-06-05, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Presidential Task Force on the Arts and Humanities." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Evaluated against the Fifth Amendment, this action touches upon property or economic rights. An early statesman would insist upon strict adherence to due process of law and the constitutional guarantee that private holdings shall not be encumbered or taken for public purposes without just compensation and lawful process.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution of the United States of America, and to establish in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C.
▪ The Task Force shall be composed of no more than 36 members appointed by the President.
▪ No more than one member shall be a full-time Federal officer or employee.
▪ The remaining members shall not represent Executive agencies.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Branch Departments 🏛️ General Body of the People
Total Words
510
3,223 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
15.9
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.44
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 12308, Ronald Reagan (Jun 5, 1981). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12308-presidential-task-force-the-arts-and-humanities.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution of the United States of America, and to establish in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App. I), an advisory committee on arts and humanities of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Establishment. (a) There is hereby established the Presidential Task Force on the Arts and Humanities. The Task Force shall be composed of no more than 36 members appointed by the President. No more than one member shall be a full-time Federal officer or employee. The remaining members shall not represent Executive agencies. (b) The President shall designate three Cochairmen and one Vice Chairman from among the members of the Task Force. Sec. 2. Functions. (a) The Task Force shall advise the President with respect to: (1) methods to increase private support for the arts and humanities; (2) ways in which Federal decisions regarding arts and humanities projects can rely more on the judgments of nongovernmental professionals, private sector groups, and individuals; and (3) potential improvements in the management, organization and structure of (i) the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities (including the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities) and (ii) other Federal arts and humanities programs. (b) The Task Force shall report its findings and recommendations to the President, the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Sec. 3. Administration. (a) The heads of Executive agencies shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide the Task Force with such information with respect to arts and humanities issues as may be necessary for the effective performance of its functions. (b) Members of the Task Force shall receive no compensation for their work on the Task Force. However, while engaged in the work of the Task Force, members may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in the government service (5 U.S.C. 57015707). (c) The National Endowment for the Humanities shall, to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of funds, provide the Task Force with such administrative services, funds, facilities, staff and other support services as may be necessary for the effective performance of its functions. Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other Executive order, the responsibilities of the President under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, except that of reporting annually to the Congress, which are applicable to the advisory committee established by this Order, shall be performed by the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, in accordance with the guidelines and procedures established by the Administrator of General Services. (b) The Task Force shall terminate on September 30, 1981, unless sooner extended. RONALD REAGAN The White House, June 5, 1981. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:56 p.m., June 5, 1981]