[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 582 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 582

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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 9, 2005

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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 School 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 Pattilo, Jefferson Thomas, Carlotta 
        Walls, Terrence Roberts, Gloria Ray, Thelma Mothershed and 
        Minnie Jean 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 School 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 (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 sections 5134 and 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) Mint Facility.--Only 1 facility of the United States Mint may 
be used to strike any particular quality of the coins minted under this 
Act.
    (c) 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.
    (d) 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, all surcharges which are received by the Secretary from 
the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be equally divided and 
promptly paid by the Secretary to--
            (1) the Jefferson National Parks Association for the 
        purpose of providing support for programs and other 
        developmental activities at the Little Rock Central High 
        National Historic Site and support for the ongoing mission of 
        the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site; and
            (2) the Secretary of the Interior for site improvements at 
        the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site, including 
        the establishment of cooperative agreements to preserve and 
        restore the historic character of the vicinity in the historic 
        site's boundaries.
    (c) Audits.--The Jefferson National Parks Association shall be 
subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, 
United States Code, with regard to the amounts received by the 
Association under subsection (b).
    (d) Supplemental Funds.--The surcharges provided to the Secretary 
of the Interior under this section are intended by the Congress to 
supplement amounts provided to such Secretary in appropriation Acts for 
the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site and are not 
intended to be a substitute for such appropriated amounts.
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