Blackwell School National Historic Site Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on National Parks, Forests, and public landsLand owned by the federal government, about a quarter of the country, managed by agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and Park Service.Read the full definition (opens a new tab).
Blackwell School National Historic Site Act
This bill establishes the Blackwell School National Historic Site in Texas as a unit of the National Park System to preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit of present and future generations the Blackwell School, its role as both an academic and cultural cornerstone in the community in Marfa, Texas, and its function within a segregated system of education in Texas and the United States from 1885-1965.
The historic site shall not be established until the date on which the Department of the Interior has (1) entered into a written agreement with the Marfa Unified School District providing that the Blackwell School shall be donated to or placed by agreement into comanagement with the United States for inclusion in a national historic site to be managed consistently with the purposes of such a site, and (2) acquired sufficient land or interests in land within the boundaries of the historic site to constitute a manageable unit.
Interior may only acquire by donation, purchase with donated funds, or exchange any land or interest in land located within the boundary of the historic site.
The bill prohibits any private property or nonfederal public property from being included within the boundaries of the historic site or managed as part of such site without the written consent of the owner.
Interior shall prepare a general management plan for the historic site.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 11, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 16, 2020: Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Will Hurd (R-TX) introduced it on September 11, 2020, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 11, 2020, 2190 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2185 days ago, on September 16, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers