[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 791 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 791
To establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in
the State of Maryland as an affiliated area of the National Park
System, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 27, 2025
Mr. Van Hollen (for himself and Ms. Alsobrooks) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in
the State of Maryland as an affiliated area of the National Park
System, 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 ``Justice Thurgood Marshall National
Historic Site Establishment Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) Thurgood Marshall--
(A) led the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense and
Educational Fund from 1940 to 1961; and
(B) successfully argued 29 of 32 civil rights cases
before the United States Supreme Court, including the
landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case that
ended racial segregation of public schools;
(2) President John F. Kennedy appointed Thurgood Marshall
to serve as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for
the 2nd Circuit from 1961 to 1965;
(3) President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall
to serve as United States Solicitor General from 1965 to 1967;
(4) nominated by President Lyndon Johnson and confirmed by
the Senate, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American
to serve on the United States Supreme Court, serving as an
Associate Justice from 1967 to 1991;
(5) as a result of his long legal career, Thurgood Marshall
is credited with ending legal segregation in the United States;
(6) Public School 103, now known as the ``Justice Thurgood
Marshall School'', located at 1315 Division Street in
Baltimore, Maryland, was the site of the elementary education
of Thurgood Marshall;
(7) the Justice Thurgood Marshall School is owned and
operated as a museum by the Beloved Community Services
Corporation, which has completed a historic restoration for
adaptive reuse of the School;
(8) Congress authorized the National Park Service to
prepare a special resource study of Public School 103 in 2019
which was transmitted by the National Park Service to Congress
in 2023; and
(9) in the special resource study referred to in paragraph
(8), the National Park Service found that Public School 103 met
the criteria for national significance and suitability for
addition to the National Park System.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to preserve, protect, and
interpret for the benefit of future generations the significant
historic contributions of Justice Thurgood Marshall by--
(1) establishing the elementary school attended by Marshall
as a national historic site; and
(2) providing for the administration of the National
Historic Site as an affiliated area of the National Park
System.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Management entity.--The term ``management entity''
means the management entity for the National Historic Site
designated by section 4(e).
(2) National historic site.--The term ``National Historic
Site'' means the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic
Site established by section 4(a).
(3) School.--The term ``School'' means the building located
at 1315 Division Street in Baltimore, Maryland, known as Public
School 103, which is owned and managed by the Beloved Community
Services Corporation, a nonprofit organization established in
Baltimore, Maryland.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE JUSTICE THURGOOD MARSHALL NATIONAL
HISTORIC SITE.
(a) In General.--There is established as an affiliated area of the
National Park System the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic
Site.
(b) Boundary.--The National Historic Site shall consist of the
School, as generally depicted on the map entitled ``Justice Thurgood
Marshall School National Historic Site Proposed Boundary'', numbered
962/194939, and dated September 2024.
(c) Ownership.--The School shall continue to be owned, operated,
and managed by the Beloved Community Services Corporation.
(d) Administration.--The National Historic Site shall be managed in
a manner consistent with--
(1) this Act; and
(2) the laws generally applicable to units of the National
Park System.
(e) Management Entity.--The Beloved Community Services Corporation
shall be the management entity for the National Historic Site.
(f) Agreements.--The Secretary--
(1) may provide technical assistance to, and enter into
cooperative agreements with, the management entity for the
purpose of providing financial assistance for the marketing,
marking, interpretation, and preservation of the National
Historic Site; and
(2) shall enter into an agreement with the management
entity that delineates the roles and responsibilities for the
management of the area consistent with the policies and
standards that apply to units of the National Park System.
(g) Limited Role of the Secretary.--Nothing in this Act authorizes
the Secretary--
(1) to acquire the School; or
(2) to assume overall financial responsibility for the
operation, maintenance, or management of the National Historic
Site.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this Act.
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