Legislative · State · TX
Texas Bill Would Create State Program to Designate Historic Freedmen's Cemeteries
- Direction
- +1 — benefit to freedmen
- Force
- 0.10 — introduced or referred
- Status
- Developing
- Date
- 2025-04-07
Why this rating
The bill would create a state-administered designation program specifically for Freedmen's cemeteries, providing formal recognition and likely attendant preservation status to burial grounds tied directly to Freedmen lineage and history — a lineage-specific mechanism rather than a general historic-preservation measure, meriting a positive direction (+1) since it moves beyond purely symbolic action toward an operative designation program, though the material does not detail funding, protective force, or enforcement beyond a fee authorization. On force, the bill has only been filed and referred to committee as of April 7, 2025, with no committee vote, floor passage, or enactment — placing it at the earliest stage (0.10) with no realized effect on any cemetery yet.
Summary
House Bill 5363, filed in the Texas Legislature by Rep. Harold Dutton Jr. on March 14, 2025, would establish the Historic Texas Freedmen's Cemetery Designation Program, administered through the Texas Historical Commission, and authorizes a fee in connection with the program. The bill was read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Culture, Recreation & Tourism on April 7, 2025.
The provided material consists of the bill's caption, subject tags ('Cemeteries,' 'Historic Preservation & Museums,' 'Historic Texas Freedmen's Cemetery Designation Act'), sponsor information, and legislative history entries. The full bill text describing eligibility criteria, the designation process, the amount or purpose of the authorized fee, and any protections or benefits tied to designation was not included in the source material.
As filed, the measure targets cemeteries specifically identified with Freedmen history — burial grounds established by or associated with formerly enslaved Black Texans and their descendants — for a formal state historic designation.
Sources
- Relating to establishing the Historic Texas Freedmen's Cemetery Designation Program; authorizing a fee. — bill text · primary · legiscan
Rated under the published impact rubric. Direction records what a measure would do if fully effective; force records how far it has actually travelled. Neither is inferred — both trace to the sources above. Think something here is wrong? Tell us and we will log the correction.