Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006
Latest action. Became public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) No: 109-246.
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the House on July 13, 2006. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 - (Sec. 3) Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to revise requirements for the use of examiners and observers at federal elections. Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel (OPM) to assign an appropriate number of observers for any political subdivision in question if: (1) a court has authorized the appointment of observers for the subdivision; or (2) the Attorney General certifies that the assignment of observers is otherwise necessary to enforce the guarantees of the 14th and 15th Amendments because written meritorious complaints indicate that efforts to deny or abridge the right to vote under color of law on account of race or color are likely to occur. Repeals the requirement that federal examiners first be serving in such a political subdivision.
Eliminates the position of federal voting examiner, and related requirements.
Replaces examiners with federal voting observers with respect to: (1) proceedings to enforce the right to vote; and (2) suspension of the use of tests or devices in determining eligibility to vote.
(Sec. 4) Extends: (1) the time for reconsideration of federal oversight of jurisdictions which once used suspended voting tests or devices until 15 years after the enactment of this Act; and (2) related requirements for such jurisdictions until 25 years after the enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 5) Revises criteria for a declaratory judgment regarding the legality or constitutionality of voting rules changes. States that any voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting denies or abridges the right to vote if its purpose is or its effect will be the diminishment of the ability of any U.S. citizens on account of race or color, or in contravention of certain guarantees, to elect their preferred candidates of choice.
The summary continues for 4 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Public Law" stage on July 27, 2006. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
This bill has been enacted. It is law.
The record's latest action, on July 27, 2006: Became Public Law No: 109-246.
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?
F. SENSENBRENNER (R-WI) introduced it on May 2, 2006, and 152 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 124 Democrats, 27 Republicans, 1 independent.
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.
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
- HousePassed
- SenatePassed
- PresidentSigned into law