[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2036 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2036

 To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition 
         and celebration of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 26, 2012

 Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Isakson, 
 and Mr. Schumer) 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 recognition 
         and celebration of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

    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 ``National Baseball Hall of Fame 
Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On June 12, 1939, the National Baseball Hall of Fame 
        and Museum opened in Cooperstown, New York. Ty Cobb, Walter 
        Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner 
        comprised the inaugural class of inductees. This class set the 
        standard for all future inductees. Since 1939, just one percent 
        of all Major League Baseball players have earned induction into 
        the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
            (2) The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is 
        dedicated to preserving history, honoring excellence, and 
        connecting generations through the rich history of our national 
        pastime. Baseball has mirrored our Nation's history since the 
        Civil War, and is now an integral part of our Nation's 
        heritage.
            (3) The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum 
        chronicles the history of our national pastime and houses the 
        world's largest collection of baseball artifacts, including 
        more than 38,000 three dimensional artifacts, 3,000,000 
        documents, 500,000 photographs, and 12,000 hours of recorded 
        media. This collection ensures that baseball history and its 
        unique connection to American history will be preserved and 
        recounted for future generations.
            (4) Since its opening in 1939, more than 14,000,000 
        baseball fans have visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame 
        and Museum to learn about the history of our national pastime 
        and the game's connection to the American experience.
            (5) The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an 
        educational institution, reaching 10,000,000 Americans 
        annually. Utilizing video conference technology, students and 
        teachers participate in interactive lessons led by educators 
        from the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum. These award-
        winning educational programs draw upon the wonders of baseball 
        to reach students in classrooms nationwide. Each educational 
        program uses baseball as a lens for teaching young Americans 
        important lessons on an array of topics, including mathematics, 
        geography, civil rights, women's history, economics, industrial 
        technology, arts, and communication.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--In recognition and celebration of the National 
Baseball Hall of Fame, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this 
Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the 
following coins:
            (1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 50,000 $5 coins, which 
        shall--
                    (A) weigh 8.359 grams;
                    (B) have diameter of 0.850 inches; and
                    (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
            (2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 400,000 $1 coins, 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 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 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.
    (d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, to the 
extent possible without significantly adding to the purchase price of 
the coins, the $1 coins and $5 coins minted under this Act should be 
produced in a fashion similar to the 2009 International Year of 
Astronomy coins issued by Monnaie de Paris, the French Mint, so that 
the reverse of the coin is convex to more closely resemble a baseball 
and the obverse concave, providing a more dramatic display of the 
obverse design chosen pursuant to section 4(c).

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be emblematic of the game of baseball.
            (2) Designations and inscriptions.--On each coin minted 
        under this Act there shall be--
                    (A) a designation of the value of the coin;
                    (B) an inscription of the year ``2015''; and
                    (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God 
                We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E 
                Pluribus Unum''.
    (b) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this Act 
shall be--
            (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with the 
        National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Commission of Fine Arts 
        and in accordance with subparagraph (c); and
            (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
    (c) Obverse Design Competition.--The Secretary shall hold a 
competition and provide compensation for its winner to design the 
common obverse of the coins minted under this Act, with such design 
being emblematic of the game of baseball. The competition shall be held 
in the following manner:
            (1) The competition shall be judged by an expert jury 
        chaired by the Secretary and consisting of 3 members from the 
        Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee who shall be elected by 
        such Committee and 3 members from the Commission of Fine Arts 
        who shall be elected by such Commission.
            (2) The Secretary shall determine compensation for the 
        winning design, which shall be not less than $5,000.
            (3) The Secretary may not accept a design for the 
        competition unless a plaster model accompanies the design.
    (d) Reverse Design.--The design on the common reverse of the coins 
minted under this Act shall depict a baseball similar to those used by 
Major League Baseball.

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

    (a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this Act shall be issued 
in uncirculated and proof qualities.
    (b) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 
2015.

SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

    (a) Sale Price.--The coins issued under this Act shall be sold by 
the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--
            (1) the face value of the coins;
            (2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with respect to 
        such coins; and
            (3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins (including 
        labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, 
        marketing, and shipping).
    (b) Bulk Sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the coins 
issued under this Act at a reasonable discount.
    (c) Prepaid Orders.--
            (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) In General.--All sales of coins minted under this Act shall 
include a surcharge as follows:
            (1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin.
            (2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin.
            (3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin.
    (b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United 
States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of 
coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to 
the National Baseball Hall of Fame to help finance its operations.
    (c) Audits.--The National Baseball Hall of Fame shall be subject to 
the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States 
Code, with regard to the amounts received 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 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.

SEC. 8. BUDGET COMPLIANCE.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of 
Representatives, provided that such statement has been submitted prior 
to the vote on passage.
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