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2 Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie
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5 A BILL
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10 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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12 __________________
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15 To amend the Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978 to require the
16 Historic Preservation Review Board to include Historic African American burial grounds
17 in its inventory of historic landmarks and historic districts, and on city maps, and to
18 require the Mayor to include the preservation status of Historic African American burial
19 grounds in existing annual reporting requirements to the Council.
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21 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
22 act may be cited as the “Inventory of Historic African American Burial Grounds Amendment
23 Act of 2024”.
24 Sec. 2. The Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978, effective
25 March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-144; D.C. Code § 6-1101 et seq.), is amended as follows:
26 (a) Section 3 (D.C. Official Code § 6-1102) is amended as follows:
27 (1) A new paragraph (4B) is added to read as follows:
28 “(4B) "Historic African American burial ground" means a cemetery or any natural
29 or prepared physical location, whether originally below, on, or above the surface of the earth,
30 into which human remains are deposited as a part of the death rite or ceremony of a culture, and
31 that was established in the District of Columbia prior to January 1, 1955, for interments of
32 African Americans and is owned by a public body or qualified charitable organization.”.
33 (b) Section 4 (D.C. Official Code § 6-1103(c)(3)) is amended to read as follows:
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34 “(3) Designate and maintain a current inventory of historic landmarks and historic
35 districts in the District of Columbia and, in connection therewith, adopt and publish appropriate
36 procedures. In coordination with the Office of Planning, the inventory shall include:
37 (A) All identified Historic African American burial grounds within the
38 District of Columbia including locational data, ownership records, and any contested issues
39 related to burial grounds; and
40 (B) The representation of all identified Historic African American burial
41 grounds on city maps including the District of Columbia Geographic Information System and
42 other public planning documents; and”.
43 (c) Section 14 (D.C. Official Code § 6-1113) is amended as follows:
44 (1) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the phrase “; and” and inserting a
45 semicolon in its place.
46 (2) Paragraph (3) is amended by striking the phrase “building violations.” and
47 inserting the phrase “building violations; and” in its place.
48 (3) A new paragraph (4) is added to read as follows:
49 “(4) The preservation status of Historic African American burial grounds,
50 including efforts to register sites that are not yet listed in the District of Columbia’s inventory of
51 historic sites or on the National Register of Historic Places.”.
52 Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
53 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal
54 impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975,
55 approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a).
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56 Sec. 4. Effective date.
57 This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the
58 Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of Congressional review as
59 provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December
60 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Code § 1-206(c)(1)), and publication in the District of Columbia
61 Register.
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