Mass. lawmaker files bill to install Mercy Otis Warren memorial at State House

Representative Kip A. Diggs filed legislation on Jan. 15, 2025, proposing a permanent memorial to honor Mercy Otis Warren in the Massachusetts State House.

House Bill No. 3315 directs the superintendent of state office buildings, subject to approval by the State House Art Commission as to size and content, to install and maintain a conspicuous memorial to Mercy Otis Warren. The bill text states the memorial will be the gift of Cape Cod artist David Lewis, who "will bear all costs associated with the creation, transportation, and installation of the artwork." The filing lists the committee referral as State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.

The bill text describes Warren as "a leading author, playwright, satirist, and patriot in colonial Massachusetts," and says her essays contributed to the creation of the Bill of Rights and that her History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution was the country's first published history of the American Revolution. The legislation would require the superintendent to install and maintain the memorial in a conspicuous place in the State House chosen by the State House Art Commission.

The filing repeats language that the installation is conditional on the Art Commission's approval of size and content and identifies the memorial as a private gift; the text does not direct use of public funds. The bill references a similar matter filed in the prior legislative session (House No. 3013 of 2023'2024).

No vote or committee action is recorded in the bill text; the document shows the measure was filed with the House on Jan. 15, 2025. Next steps under regular legislative procedure would be committee consideration and any subsequent votes by the House and Senate.

Background: Mercy Otis Warren (1728'1814) is widely cited in historical references as an early American political writer and historian from Massachusetts. The bill locates responsibility for placement and maintenance with the superintendent of state office buildings and gives the State House Art Commission authority over size and content, per the text.

The bill text and docket number are available as House No. 3315 (filed Jan. 15, 2025); the filing identifies the petitioner as Representative Kip A. Diggs of Barnstable and notes Cape Cod artist David Lewis as the donor and payer of costs.