Foundation of the Federal Bar Association Charter Amendments Act of 2025
Signed into law Dec 12, 2025 · Law
What this law does
- Revises the federal charter of the Foundation of the Federal Bar Association, moving many rules from the charter into the foundation's bylaws.
- Removes the requirement that the foundation be based in Washington, DC, and lets its board choose its main office.
- Bars directors and officers, acting for the foundation, from taking part in political activities.
- Allows reasonable pay and expense payments to officers, directors, members and employees, and extends a ban on loans to members and employees.
- Lets the board decide where remaining assets go if the foundation closes, instead of sending them to the Treasury.
Plain-language list by Voting On, based only on the official summary by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service and the bill's titles. Read the official summary.
How it became law
- IntroducedFeb 18, 2025 · Senate
- 71 daysPassed SenateApr 30, 2025
- 215 daysPassed HouseDec 1, 2025
- 9 daysPresented to the PresidentDec 10, 2025
- 2 daysSigned into lawDec 12, 2025
Official summary
Foundation of the Federal Bar Association Charter Amendments Act of 2025
This act revises the federal charter for the Foundation of the Federal Bar Association to shift authority from the charter to the bylaws.
Specifically, it makes the following changes:
- removes the requirement for the foundation to be incorporated and domiciled in the District of Columbia;
- requires the board of directors to decide, and specify in the bylaws, the location of the principal office;
- specifies that the bylaws—not the charter—must provide for the terms of membership, the responsibilities of the board of directors, and the election of officers;
- prohibits a director or officer, in his or her corporate capacity, from contributing to, supporting, or participating in political activities;
- allows income and assets of the corporation to be used to reasonably compensate or reimburse expenses of an officer, director, or member; to award a grant to the Federal Bar Association chapter of an officer, director, or member; and to reasonably compensate employees;
- expands a prohibition on loans for directors and officers to include members and employees; and
- specifies that on dissolution or final liquidation, any remaining assets must be distributed as provided by the board of directors instead of deposited in the Treasury.
Summary by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Dec 12, 2025).
Who wrote it
Sponsor: Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA]
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats. 1 signed on the day it was introduced.
Show all cosponsors
| Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|
| Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] | Feb 18, 2025 | Original cosponsor |
Recorded votes
No recorded roll-call votes. It passed by voice vote or unanimous consent, where individual votes are not recorded.
What was added
Amendments adopted (0)
No floor amendments were adopted. Any changes were made in committee or in a later version of the bill.
Sections in the final law that were not in the first version (Introduced in Senate) (0)
None. Every section heading in the final law was already in the first version (Introduced in Senate).
What was removed
Sections in the first version (Introduced in Senate) that did not make it into the law (0)
None. Every section heading from the first version (Introduced in Senate) remains in the law.
Compared by section heading between the Introduced in Senate text (Feb 18, 2025) and the Enrolled Bill text, both from GovInfo. Wording changes inside a section that kept its heading are not shown here; see the amendments and the text versions.
Proposed but not adopted
No amendments were voted down or withdrawn.
Full action history
Show all 21 official actions
| Dec 12, 2025 | Signed by President. |
| Dec 12, 2025 | Signed by President. |
| Dec 12, 2025 | Became Public Law No: 119-57. |
| Dec 12, 2025 | Became Public Law No: 119-57. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | Presented to President. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | Presented to President. |
| Dec 1, 2025 | Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. |
| Dec 1, 2025 | Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4928) |
| Dec 1, 2025 | On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4928) |
| Dec 1, 2025 | DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 616. |
| Dec 1, 2025 | Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4928-4929) |
| Dec 1, 2025 | Mr. McClintock moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill. |
| May 5, 2025 | Held at the desk. |
| May 5, 2025 | Received in the House. |
| May 1, 2025 | Message on Senate action sent to the House. |
| Apr 30, 2025 | Senate Committee on the Judiciary discharged by Unanimous Consent. |
| Apr 30, 2025 | Senate Committee on the Judiciary discharged by Unanimous Consent. |
| Apr 30, 2025 | Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. |
| Apr 30, 2025 | Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S2709-2710; text: CR S2709-2710) |
| Feb 18, 2025 | Introduced in Senate |
| Feb 18, 2025 | Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. |
Sources: Congress.gov (bill record, sponsors, actions, amendments, CRS summary) and GovInfo (official text). Days are calendar days.