[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2827 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2827

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
   To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of 
        African American burial grounds, 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 ``African American Burial Grounds 
Study Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Burial ground.--The term ``burial ground'' means any 
        natural or prepared physical location, whether originally 
        below, on, or above the surface of the earth, into which human 
        remains are deposited as a part of the death rite or ceremony 
        of a culture.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National 
        Park Service.

SEC. 3. AFRICAN AMERICAN BURIAL GROUNDS STUDY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall conduct a study of ways to 
identify, interpret, preserve, and record unmarked, previously 
abandoned, underserved, or other burial grounds relating to the 
historic African American experience.
    (b) Requirements.--In conducting the study under subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall consider--
            (1) ways to engage with descendant, local, and other 
        communities historically associated with identified burial 
        grounds by geography, genealogy, or culture;
            (2) appropriate processes to identify locations of unmarked 
        and unrecorded African American burial grounds with appropriate 
        consideration for the privacy and safety of the burial grounds;
            (3) alternatives for providing in a public database, as 
        appropriate, the locations of, and information on, recorded and 
        unrecorded African American burial grounds;
            (4) alternatives for commemorating and interpreting African 
        American burial grounds; and
            (5) best practices for preserving burial ground landscapes 
        and caring for artifacts.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds 
are first made available to carry out the study under subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
House of Representatives a report describing--
            (1) the findings of the study; and
            (2) any recommendations of the Secretary.

            Passed the Senate December 20, 2020.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
116th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2827

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

   To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of 
        African American burial grounds, and for other purposes.