[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 368 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 368

To authorize the minting and issuance of a commemorative coin in honor 
                of the founding of Biloxi, Mississippi.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 4, 1999

 Mr. Cochran (for himself and Mr. Lott) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
                           and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the minting and issuance of a commemorative coin in honor 
                of the founding of Biloxi, Mississippi.

    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 Biloxi Tricentennial Commemorative 
Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. COMMEMORATIVE COINS IN HONOR OF THE FOUNDING OF BILOXI, 
              MISSISSIPPI.

    (a) Coin Specifications.--The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter 
in this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue 
each of the following coins:
            (1) $10 gold coins.--Not more than 100,000 $10 coins, each 
        of which shall--
                    (A) weigh 16.718 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 1.06 inches; and
                    (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
            (2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 500,000 $1 coins, each 
        of which shall--
                    (A) weigh 26.73 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
                    (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent 
                copper.
            (3) Half dollar clad coins.--Not more than 750,000 half 
        dollar coins each of which shall--
                    (A) weigh 11.34 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and
                    (C) be minted to the specifications for half dollar 
                coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 31, United 
                States Code.
    (b) Legal Tender.--The coins minted under this section shall be 
legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States 
Code.
    (c) Sources of Bullion.--The Secretary shall obtain gold and silver 
for minting coins under this section pursuant to the authority of the 
Secretary under other provisions of law, including authority relating 
to the use of silver stockpiles established under the Strategic and 
Critical Materials Stockpiling Act, as applicable.
    (d) Design of Coins.--
            (1) Design requirements.--
                    (A) In general.--The design of the coins minted 
                under this section shall be emblematic of the landing 
                of Pierre LeMoyne Sieur D'Iberville on the shores of 
                present day Biloxi, Mississippi, on February 13, 1699.
                    (B) Designation and inscriptions.--On each coin 
                minted under this section there shall be--
                            (i) a designation of the value of the coin;
                            (ii) an inscription of the year 1999; and
                            (iii) inscriptions of the words 
                        ``Liberty'', ``In God We Trust'', ``United 
                        States of America'', and ``E Pluribus Unum''.
            (2) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this 
        section shall be--
                    (A) selected by the Secretary after consultation 
                with the Board of Directors of the Biloxi Tricentennial 
                Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts; and
                    (B) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin 
                Advisory Committee.
    (e) Period for Issuance of Coins.--The Secretary may issue coins 
minted under this section only during the period beginning on January 
1, 1999, and ending on December 31, 1999.
    (f) Sale of Coins.--
            (1) Sale price.--The coins issued under this section shall 
        be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--
                    (A) the face value of the coins;
                    (B) the surcharge provided in paragraph (4) with 
                respect to such coins; and
                    (C) the cost of designing and issuing the coins 
                (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 
                overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping).
            (2) Bulk sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the 
        coins issued under this section at a reasonable discount.
            (3) Prepaid orders.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary shall accept prepaid 
                orders for the coins minted under this section before 
                the issuance of such coins.
                    (B) Discount.--Sale prices with respect to prepaid 
                orders under subparagraph (A) shall be at a reasonable 
                discount.
            (4) Surcharges.--All sales shall include a surcharge of--
                    (A) $35 per coin for the $10 coin;
                    (B) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and
                    (C) $1 per coin for the half dollar coin.
    (g) General Waiver of Procurement Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), no 
        provision of law governing procurement or public contracts 
        shall be applicable to the procurement of goods and services 
        necessary for carrying out this section.
            (2) Equal employment opportunity.--Paragraph (1) does not 
        relieve any person entering into a contract under the authority 
        of this section from complying with any law relating to equal 
        employment opportunity.
    (h) Treatment as Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 
and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this 
subsection shall be considered to be numismatic items.
    (i) Distribution of Surcharges.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to section 5134 of title 31, 
        United States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary 
        from the sale of coins issued under this section shall be 
        promptly paid by the Secretary--
                    (A) to the Biloxi Tricentennial Commission, Inc., 
                for the purpose of planning and implementing the 1999 
                Tricentennial Celebration in Biloxi, Mississippi; and
                    (B) upon dissolution of the Biloxi Tricentennial 
                Commission, Inc., to Biloxi First, Inc., for the 
                purpose of funding educational projects directly 
                related to local history instruction for students in 
                the public school system in Biloxi, Mississippi.
            (2) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
        shall have the right to examine such books, records, documents, 
        and other data of the Biloxi Tricentennial Commission, Inc., 
        and Biloxi First, Inc., as may be related to the expenditures 
        of amounts paid under paragraph (1).
    (j) Financial Assurances.--The Secretary shall take such actions as 
may be necessary to ensure that minting and issuing coins under this 
section will not result in any net cost to the United States 
Government.
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