6-27-05, House Agreed to Bill by Voice Vote
11-18-05, Bill Passed Senate by Unanimous Consent
12-18-05, House Agreed to Senate Amendment
12-22-05, Bill Became Public law 109-146


One Hundred Ninth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the fourth day of January, two thousand and five

An Act

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of the Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the `Little Rock Central High School Desegregation 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:

      (1) September 2007, marks the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

      (2) In 1957, Little Rock Central High was the site of the first major national test for the implementation of the historic decision of the United States Supreme Court in Brown, et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka, et al., 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

      (3) The courage of the `Little Rock Nine' (Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Melba Pattillo, Jefferson Thomas, Carlotta Walls, Terrence Roberts, Gloria Ray, Thelma Mothershed, and Minnijean Brown) who stood in the face of violence, was influential to the Civil Rights movement and changed American history by providing an example on which to build greater equality.

      (4) The desegregation of Little Rock Central High by the 9 African American students was recognized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as such a significant event in the struggle for civil rights that in May 1958, he attended the graduation of the first African American from Little Rock Central High School.

      (5) A commemorative coin will bring national and international attention to the lasting legacy of this important event.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations- The Secretary of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the `Secretary') shall mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 coins each of which shall--

      (1) weigh 26.73 grams;

      (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and

      (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.

    (b) Legal Tender- The coins minted under this Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.

    (c) Numismatic Items- For purposes of section 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements- The design of the coins minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the desegregation of the Little Rock Central High School and its contribution to civil rights in America.

    (b) Designation and Inscriptions- On each coin minted under this Act there shall be--

      (1) a designation of the value of the coin;

      (2) an inscription of the year `2007'; and

      (3) inscriptions of the words `Liberty', `In God We Trust', `United States of America', and `E Pluribus Unum'.

    (c) Selection- The design for the coins minted under this Act shall be--

      (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with the Commission of Fine Arts; and

      (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee established under section 5135 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

    (a) Quality of Coins- Coins minted under this Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities.

    (b) Commencement of Issuance- The Secretary may issue coins minted under this Act beginning January 1, 2007, except that the Secretary may initiate sales of such coins, without issuance, before such date.

    (c) Termination of Minting Authority- No coins shall be minted under this Act after December 31, 2007.

SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

    (a) Sale Price- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the coins issued under this Act shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of the face value of the coins, the surcharge required under section 7(a) for the coins, and the cost of designing and issuing such coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, and marketing).

    (b) Bulk Sales- The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the coins issued under this Act at a reasonable discount.

    (c) Prepaid Orders at a Discount-

      (1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act before the issuance of such coins.

      (2) DISCOUNT- Sale prices with respect to prepaid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount.

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

    (a) Surcharge Required- All sales shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin.

    (b) Distribution- Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code, and subsection (d), all surcharges which are received by the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Secretary of the Interior for the protection, preservation, and interpretation of resources and stories associated with Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, including the following:

      (1) Site improvements at Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.

      (2) Development of interpretive and education programs and historic preservation projects.

      (3) Establishment of cooperative agreements to preserve or restore the historic character of the Park Street and Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive corridors adjacent to the site.

    (c) Limitation- Notwithstanding subsection (a), no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance under this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin would result in the number of commemorative coin programs issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Secretary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out this subsection.

    (d) Creditable Funds- Notwithstanding any other provision of the law and recognizing the unique partnership nature of the Department of the Interior and the Little Rock School District at the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site and the significant contributions made by the Little Rock School District to preserve and maintain the historic character of the high school, any non-Federal funds expended by the school district (regardless of the source of the funds) for improvements at the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, to the extent such funds were used for the purposes described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (b), shall be deemed to meet the requirement of funds from private sources of section 5134(f)(1)(A)(ii) of title 31, United States Code, with respect to the Secretary of the Interior.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.

END