1
___________________________________ 1
Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie 2
3
4
A BILL 5
6
_________ 7
8
9
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 10
11
__________________ 12
13
14
To amend the Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978 to require the 15
Historic Preservation Review Board to include Historic African American burial grounds 16
in its inventory of historic landmarks and historic districts, and on city maps, and to 17
require the Mayor to include the preservation status of Historic African American burial 18
grounds in existing annual reporting requirements to the Council. 19
20
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 21
act may be cited as the “Inventory of Historic African American Burial Grounds Amendment 22
Act of 2024”. 23
Sec. 2. The Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978, effective 24
March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-144; D.C. Code § 6-1101 et seq.), is amended as follows: 25
(a) Section 3 (D.C. Official Code § 6-1102) is amended as follows: 26
(1) A new paragraph (4B) is added to read as follows: 27
“(4B) "Historic African American burial ground" means a cemetery or any natural 28
or prepared physical location, whether originally below, on, or above the surface of the earth, 29
into which human remains are deposited as a part of the death rite or ceremony of a culture, and 30
that was established in the District of Columbia prior to January 1, 1955, for interments of 31
African Americans and is owned by a public body or qualified charitable organization.”. 32
(b) Section 4 (D.C. Official Code § 6-1103(c)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 33 2
“(3) Designate and maintain a current inventory of historic landmarks and historic 34
districts in the District of Columbia and, in connection therewith, adopt and publish appropriate 35
procedures. In coordination with the Office of Planning, the inventory shall include: 36
(A) All identified Historic African American burial grounds within the 37
District of Columbia including locational data, ownership records, and any contested issues 38
related to burial grounds; and 39
(B) The representation of all identified Historic African American burial 40
grounds on city maps including the District of Columbia Geographic Information System and 41
other public planning documents; and”. 42
(c) Section 14 (D.C. Official Code § 6-1113) is amended as follows: 43
(1) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the phrase “; and” and inserting a 44
semicolon in its place. 45
(2) Paragraph (3) is amended by striking the phrase “building violations.” and 46
inserting the phrase “building violations; and” in its place. 47
(3) A new paragraph (4) is added to read as follows: 48
“(4) The preservation status of Historic African American burial grounds, 49
including efforts to register sites that are not yet listed in the District of Columbia’s inventory of 50
historic sites or on the National Register of Historic Places.”. 51
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 52
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 53
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 54
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 55 3
Sec. 4. Effective date. 56
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 57
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of Congressional review as 58
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 59
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Code § 1-206(c)(1)), and publication in the District of Columbia 60
Register. 61