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Bill to create process for relocating monuments, not destroying them, presented in committee
Summary
SB301 would protect monuments and set a process for relocation by a third party within the same jurisdiction; sponsor said the bill clarifies current law and does not permit destruction of monuments, while members asked whether relocation-to‑private sites or sale would be allowed.
Senator Williams presented SB301, a bill that aims to protect public monuments while creating a process for relocation. "This is a bill that protects all monuments and sets up guidelines how if a city or community wants to remove monuments, how to go about it," Williams told the committee, adding the measure would clarify how monuments could be relocated or sold to a third party within the same jurisdiction.
A committee member asked whether the bill would open a pathway for people to purchase monuments they wanted removed and then destroy them. The sponsor and other members said destruction would not be permitted under the bill and relocation would be prioritized to a third party in the same jurisdiction; Williams said the language was intended to "thread the needle" between opposing positions. The committee discussed whether relocated monuments must remain publicly visible and noted the bill supplies a process where none existed under current law.
The bill was described and discussed; committee members raised procedural and scope questions but no vote was taken during the meeting.
