H3597 • 2025

An Act to protect Native American heritage

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: Rogers, David M.
Last action: 2026-01-27
Official status: Placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (under the last sentence of Rule 7A) for a second reading
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act to protect Native American heritage

An Act to protect Native American heritage By Representatives Rogers of Cambridge and Biele of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

An Act to protect Native American heritage By Representatives Rogers of Cambridge and Biele of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
3597) of David M.
Rogers, David Biele and others relative to Native American heritage.
Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-01-27 House
Placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (under the last sentence of Rule 7A) for a second reading
2025-12-24 House
Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling
2025-10-09 Joint
Hearing scheduled for 10/21/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in B-2
2025-02-27 House
Referred to the committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development
2025-02-27 Senate
Senate concurred

Official Summary Text

An Act to protect Native American heritage
By Representatives Rogers of Cambridge and Biele of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3597) of David M. Rogers, David Biele and others relative to Native American heritage. Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

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Bill H.3597

SECTION 1. As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the following meanings:–

"Native American" as defined in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in accordance with 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.

"funerary objects" as defined in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in accordance with 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.

"sacred objects" as defined in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in accordance with 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.

"objects of cultural patrimony" as defined in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in accordance with 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.

SECTION 2. The penalties and requirements of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in accordance with 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq. shall be enforced if an agency, organization, entity, or department receiving funds of any kind from the Commonwealth or any local government therein; or a trust, unincorporated association, nonprofit corporation organized under Chapter 180 of the Massachusetts General laws or public charity duly registered with the Office of the Attorney General moves to deacquisition any Native American funerary objects, human remains, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony.

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