109TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 694
AN ACT
To enhance the preservation and interpretation of
the Gullah/Geechee cultural heritage, and for
other purposes.
109TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 694
AN ACT
To enhance the preservation and interpretation of the Gullah/
Geechee cultural heritage, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gullah/Geechee Cul-
tural Heritage Act’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to—
(1) recognize the important contributions made
to American culture and history by African Ameri-
cans known as the Gullah/Geechee who settled in the
coastal counties of South Carolina, Georgia, North
Carolina, and Florida;
(2) assist State and local governments and pub-
lic and private entities in South Carolina, Georgia,
North Carolina, and Florida in interpreting the
story of the Gullah/Geechee and preserving Gullah/
Geechee folklore, arts, crafts, and music; and
(3) assist in identifying and preserving sites,
historical data, artifacts, and objects associated with
the Gullah/Geechee for the benefit and education of
the public.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions
apply:
(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’
means the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Cor-
ridor Commission established under this Act.
(2) HERITAGE CORRIDOR.—The term ‘‘Herit-
age Corridor’’ means the Gullah/Geechee Cultural
Heritage Corridor established by this Act.
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 4. GULLAH/GEECHEE CULTURAL HERITAGE COR-
RIDOR.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the
Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor.
(b) BOUNDARIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Heritage Corridor shall
be comprised of those lands and waters generally de-
picted on a map entitled ‘‘Gullah/Geechee Cultural
Heritage Corridor’’ numbered GGCHC 80,000 and
dated September 2004. The map shall be on file and
available for public inspection in the appropriate of-
fices of the National Park Service and in an appro-
priate State office in each of the States included in
the Heritage Corridor. The Secretary shall publish
in the Federal Register, as soon as practicable after
the date of enactment of this Act, a detailed descrip-
tion and map of the boundaries established under
this subsection.
(2) REVISIONS.—The boundaries of the herit-
age corridor may be revised if the revision is—
(A) proposed in the management plan de-
veloped for the Heritage Corridor;
(B) approved by the Secretary in accord-
ance with this Act; and
(C) placed on file in accordance with para-
graph (1).
(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Heritage Corridor shall
be administered in accordance with the provisions of this
Act.
SEC. 5. GULLAH/GEECHEE CULTURAL HERITAGE COR-
RIDOR COMMISSION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a
commission to be known as the ‘‘Gullah/Geechee Cultural
Heritage Corridor Commission’’ whose purpose shall be to
assist Federal, State, and local authorities in the develop-
ment and implementation of a management plan for those
land and waters specified in section 4.
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com-
posed of 15 members appointed by the Secretary as fol-
lows:
(1) Four individuals nominated by the State
Historic Preservation Officer of South Carolina and
two individuals each nominated by the State Historic
Preservation Officer of each of Georgia, North Caro-
lina, and Florida and appointed by the Secretary.
(2) Two individuals from South Carolina and
one individual from each of Georgia, North Carolina,
and Florida who are recognized experts in historic
preservation, anthropology, and folklore, appointed
by the Secretary.
(c) TERMS.—Members of the Commission shall be
appointed to terms not to exceed 3 years. The Secretary
may stagger the terms of the initial appointments to the
Commission in order to assure continuity of operation.
Any member of the Commission may serve after the expi-
ration of their term until a successor is appointed. A va-
cancy shall be filled in the same manner in which the origi-
nal appointment was made.
(d) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate
10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 6. OPERATION OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.—To further the
purposes of the Heritage Corridor, the Commission
shall—
(1) prepare and submit a management plan to
the Secretary in accordance with section 7;
(2) assist units of local government and other
persons in implementing the approved management
plan by—
(A) carrying out programs and projects
that recognize, protect, and enhance important
resource values within the Heritage Corridor;
(B) establishing and maintaining interpre-
tive exhibits and programs within the Heritage
Corridor;
(C) developing recreational and educational
opportunities in the Heritage Corridor;
(D) increasing public awareness of and ap-
preciation for the historical, cultural, natural,
and scenic resources of the Heritage Corridor;
(E) protecting and restoring historic sites
and buildings in the Heritage Corridor that are
consistent with heritage corridor themes;
(F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap-
propriate signs identifying points of public ac-
cess and sites of interest are posted throughout
the Heritage Corridor; and
(G) promoting a wide range of partner-
ships among governments, organizations, and
individuals to further the purposes of the Herit-
age Corridor;
(3) consider the interests of diverse units of
government, business, organizations, and individuals
in the Heritage Corridor in the preparation and im-
plementation of the management plan;
(4) conduct meetings open to the public at least
quarterly regarding the development and implemen-
tation of the management plan;
(5) submit an annual report to the Secretary
for any fiscal year in which the Commission receives
Federal funds under this Act, setting forth its ac-
complishments, expenses, and income, including
grants made to any other entities during the year
for which the report is made;
(6) make available for audit for any fiscal year
in which it receives Federal funds under this Act, all
information pertaining to the expenditure of such
funds and any matching funds, and require all
agreements authorizing expenditures of Federal
funds by other organizations, that the receiving or-
ganization make available for audit all records and
other information pertaining to the expenditure of
such funds; and
(7) encourage by appropriate means economic
viability that is consistent with the purposes of the
Heritage Corridor.
(b) AUTHORITIES.—The Commission may, for the
purposes of preparing and implementing the management
plan, use funds made available under this Act to—
(1) make grants to, and enter into cooperative
agreements with, the States of South Carolina,
North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia, political sub-
divisions of those States, a nonprofit organization,
or any person;
(2) hire and compensate staff;
(3) obtain funds from any source including any
that are provided under any other Federal law or
program; and
(4) contract for goods and services.
SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT PLAN.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The management plan for the
Heritage Corridor shall—
(1) include comprehensive policies, strategies,
and recommendations for conservation, funding,
management, and development of the Heritage Cor-
ridor;
(2) take into consideration existing State, coun-
ty, and local plans in the development of the man-
agement plan and its implementation;
(3) include a description of actions that govern-
ments, private organizations, and individuals have
agreed to take to protect the historical, cultural, and
natural resources of the Heritage Corridor;
(4) specify the existing and potential sources of
funding to protect, manage, and develop the Herit-
age Corridor in the first 5 years of implementation;
(5) include an inventory of the historical, cul-
tural, natural, resources of the Heritage Corridor re-
lated to the themes of the Heritage Corridor that
should be preserved, restored, managed, developed,
or maintained;
(6) recommend policies and strategies for re-
source management that consider and detail the ap-
plication of appropriate land and water management
techniques, including the development of intergov-
ernmental and interagency cooperative agreements
to protect the Heritage Corridor’s historical, cul-
tural, and natural resources;
(7) describe a program for implementation of
the management plan including plans for resources
protection, restoration, construction, and specific
commitments for implementation that have been
made by the Commission or any government, organi-
zation, or individual for the first 5 years of imple-
mentation;
(8) include an analysis and recommendations
for the ways in which Federal, State, or local pro-
grams may best be coordinated to further the pur-
poses of this Act; and
(9) include an interpretive plan for the Heritage
Corridor.
(b) SUBMITTAL OF MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Com-
mission shall submit the management plan to the Sec-
retary for approval not later than 3 years after funds are
made available for this Act.
(c) FAILURE TO SUBMIT.—If the Commission fails
to submit the management plan to the Secretary in ac-
cordance with subsection (b), the Heritage Corridor shall
not qualify for Federal funding until the management plan
is submitted.
(d) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT
PLAN.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall approve
or disapprove the management plan not later than
90 days after receiving the management plan.
(2) CRITERIA.—In determining whether to ap-
prove the management plan, the Secretary shall con-
sider whether—
(A) the Commission has afforded adequate
opportunity, including public hearings, for pub-