[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2040 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.2040
One Hundred Tenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eight
An Act
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of the semicentennial of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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 ``Civil Rights Act of 1964
Commemorative Coin Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress hereby finds as follows:
(1) On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks' brave act of defiance,
refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a segregated bus
in Montgomery, Alabama, galvanized the modern civil rights movement
and led to the desegregation of the South.
(2) On February 1, 1960, 4 college students, Joseph McNeil,
Franklin McCain, David Richmond, and Ezell Blair, Jr., asked to be
served at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and lunch
counter sit-ins began to occur throughout the South to challenge
segregation in places of public accommodation.
(3) On May 4, 1961, the Freedom Rides into the South began to
test new court orders barring segregation in interstate
transportation, and riders were jailed and beaten by mobs in
several places, including Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama.
(4) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was the leading civil rights
advocate of the time, spearheading the civil rights movement in the
United States during the 1950s and 1960s with the goal of
nonviolent social change and full civil rights for African
Americans.
(5) On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., led over
250,000 civil rights supporters in the March on Washington and
delivered his famous ``I Have A Dream'' speech to raise awareness
and support for civil rights legislation.
(6) Mrs. Coretta Scott King, a leading participant in the
American civil rights movement, was side-by-side with her husband,
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during many civil rights marches,
organized Freedom Concerts to draw attention to the Movement, and
worked in her own right to create an America in which all people
have equal rights.
(7) The mass movement sparked by Rosa Parks and led by Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., among others, called upon the Congress and
Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson to pass civil
rights legislation which culminated in the enactment of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964.
(8) The Civil Rights Act of 1964 greatly expanded civil rights
protections, outlawing racial discrimination and segregation in
public places and places of public accommodation, in federally
funded programs, and employment and encouraging desegregation in
public schools, and has served as a model for subsequent anti-
discrimination laws.
(9) We are an eminently better Nation because of Rosa Parks,
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and all those men and women who have
confronted, and continue to confront, injustice and inequality
wherever they see it.
(10) Equality in education was one of the cornerstones of the
civil rights movement.
(11) On September 10, 1961, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote
that African American ``students are coming to understand that
education and learning have become tools for shaping the future and
not devices of privilege for an exclusive few''.
(12) Over its long and distinguished history, the United Negro
College Fund has provided scholarships and operating funds to its
member colleges that have enabled more than 300,000 young African
Americans to earn college degrees and become successful members of
society.
(13) Those graduates include Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as
well as leaders in the fields of education, science, medicine, law,
entertainment, literature, the military, and politics who have made
major contributions to the civil rights movement and the creation
of a more equitable society.
(14) Congress has an obligation to lead America's continued
struggle to fight discrimination and ensure equal rights for all.
(15) The year 2014 will mark the semicentennial of the passage
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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 350,000 $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 enactment of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 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 ``2014''; 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, 2014, 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, 2014.
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 promptly paid by the
Secretary to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to carry out the
purposes of the Fund, including providing scholarships and internships
for minority students and operating funds and technology enhancement
services for 39 member historically black colleges and universities.
(c) Audits.--The United Negro College Fund 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 Fund under subsection
(b).
(d) 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.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.