SB217

SB217 creates the Historic Texas Freedmen’s Cemetery Designation Program to identify cemeteries containing the grave of at least one formerly enslaved person. Signed June 20, 2025, it took effect September 1, 2025. The Texas Historical Commission must administer the program and may set additional eligibility requirements. Official history; Final law.

Any person may apply, providing evidence that the cemetery exists and contains at least one qualifying grave. The commission must notify the cemetery property owner, adjacent property owners and any applicable cemetery organization. It must review the application and approve it if the cemetery qualifies; otherwise it may request more information or deny it. A denial notice must explain the ability to appeal to commission members.

The commission may charge an application fee of up to $25. A designated cemetery may be recognized with a medallion available for purchase; the $25 application-fee cap is not a stated medallion-price cap. The law required implementing rules by June 1, 2026, and requires an application form on the commission’s website.

As checked November 1, 2026, the commission posts a Freedmen’s Cemetery application. Its eligibility section describes a person of African descent freed from slavery in 1865 or earlier and asks whether the cemetery is predominantly African American or a historically segregated section. The current form asks for a $25 fee and supporting material including deeds, photographs, maps, a narrative history and sources; it says applications are accepted year-round. These are current application instructions, not proof that every eligible cemetery has been identified or approved. 2026 official application; Program guidance.