[110th Congress Public Law 451]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[DOCID: f:publ451.110]
[[Page 122 STAT. 5021]]
Public Law 110-451
110th Congress
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. <<NOTE: Dec. 2, 2008 - [H.R. 2040]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Civil Rights Act
of 1964 Commemorative Coin Act.>>
SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 31 USC 5112 note.>> 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
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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
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(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
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date of the enactment of this Act). The Secretary of the Treasury may
issue guidance to carry out this subsection.
Approved December 2, 2008.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 2040:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 154 (2008):
Apr. 1, considered and passed House.
Nov. 19, considered and passed Senate.
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