Alabama Memorial Preservation Act

Alabama Memorial Preservation Act
Alabama Legislature
Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017
Date signed May 25, 2017
Legislative history
Bill citation SB 60
Introduced by Sen. Gerald Allen (R)
First reading 2017-02-07
Status: Current legislation

The Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017 (AL Act 2017-354, Senate Bill 60) is an act of law in the U.S. state of Alabama which requires local governments to obtain state permission before moving or renaming historically significant buildings and monuments that date back to 40 years or longer.[1] It was co-sponsored by Republican Representative Mack Butler and Republican Senator Gerald Allen in March-April 2017,[2][3][4] and signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey on May 25, 2017.[1] The law created the Alabama Monument Protection Committee, a group of 11 members who will decide whether historic buildings and monuments may be moved or renamed.[1] The act was accused of being an attempt to make it harder to remove Confederate monuments in Alabama by the Southern Poverty Law Center, although the co-sponsors have denied it.[1] African-American lawmakers like Juandalynn Givan, Napoleon Bracy Jr. and Hank Sanders were opposed to it.[1][3]

The proposed removal of the Linn Park Memorial in Birmingham triggered the creation of the law.[5]

Enforcement

In 2017, after Birmingham Mayor William A. Bell draped a Confederate memorial with plastic, surrounded it with plywood and stated "This country should in no way tolerate the hatred that the KKK, neo-Nazis, fascists and other hate groups spew", Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall sued Bell and the City over this violation of the law.[6][7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Cason, Mike (May 25, 2017). "Gov. Kay Ivey signs bill protecting Confederate monuments". The Birmingham News. Retrieved June 1, 2017. . The text of the Act is available at http://arc-sos.state.al.us/PAC/SOSACPDF.001/A0012128.PDF
  2. ↑ Cason, Mike (March 9, 2017). "Alabama Senate passes bill to preserve historic monuments, names". The Birmingham News. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Alabama House passes monument preservation bill after heated debate". The Birmingham News. April 27, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  4. ↑ Lyman, Brian (April 27, 2017). "House approves historic monument bill after heated debate". The Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Alabama Attorney General sues Birmingham for hiding Confederate monument". amp.usatoday.com.
  6. ↑ "Confederate statues and memorials to be removed across US".
  7. ↑ "Alabama AG Steve Marshall Sues Birmingham Mayor For Covering Confederate Statue - Yellowhammer News". yellowhammernews.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-17. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
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