After removal of Springfield Confederate monument, 'Monuments and Memorials Protection Act' filed

JACKSOVNILLE, Fla. — Just one day after Mayor Donna Deegan authorized the removal of Jacksonville’s last prominent Confederate monument, a Senate companion to a bill that would require historical monuments to be put back up was filed in the Florida Legislature.

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“I think a lot of impetus will come because of the mayor’s actions. That will be quite ironic,” said House sponsor State Representative Dean Black (R-Yulee).

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The bills require the replacement of historical monuments removed in recent years and threaten local officials with removal from office for taking others down in the future.

Black explained the two bills are nearly identical, but there are some differences.

“The retroactivity date in my bill goes a little further back then his and there’s a difference in the fine amounts for officials who chose to violate that law,” said Black.

While both versions of the bill would require the replacement of the Springfield monument and the Confederate obelisk removed from James Weldon Johnson Park, Black’s bill would also apply to the statue and plaque removed from the obelisk in the summer of 2020.

Related Story: Final Confederate monument in Jacksonville comes down in Springfield Park

“It would be a slap in the face to the entire community,” said State Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville).

Nixon said she’s not surprised to see Republican lawmakers react in this way.

“We need to be promoting true history. We need to be promoting unity, not divisive politics and unfortunately that’s exactly what Representative Black represents,” said Nixon.

Governor Ron DeSantis hasn’t weighed in on the bills specifically, but did tell reporters he didn’t agree with the removal of the Springfield monument during a campaign stop Thursday.

“I’m opposed to taking down statues. The idea that we’re gonna just erase history is wrong,” said DeSantis.

Black argued the bill is as much about preventing other historical statues from coming down in the future as it is about restoring what’s already been removed.

“A day later we have members of her administration calling now to remove the Andrew Jackson statue? Come on,” said Black referencing comments made on social media by members of Deegan’s transition team.

Related Story: Jacksonville’s last major Confederate monument is gone, but some lesser-known ones still remain

Mayor Deegan Action News Jax on Wednesday, she doesn’t personally have any plans to go beyond the most recent removal.

“If council or the community wants to look at other things I’m happy to do that, but this has really been where our full focus has been,” said Deegan.

The city’s Office of General Counsel contemplated the impact Black’s bill might have on the removal of the Confederate monument in Springfield in a 17-page opinion released Wednesday.

“I think that legislation, such as it is, is wholly unconstitutional,” said Deegan when asked about Black’s bill this week.

Deegan has repeatedly dismissed the bill in recent weeks, and argued it wouldn’t withstand a legal challenge.

The recent opinion drafted by the city’s Office of General Counsel agreed with that assessment.

The opinion suggested the bill would violate home rule and unconstitutionally threaten local officials with removal from office for taking down monuments as far back as six years ago.

“Statutes cannot be constitutionally applied retroactively if they impair vested rights, create new obligations, or impose new penalties,” a city attorney wrote in the opinion.

“Frankly, as to where the mayor is getting her legal opinions from, you know, is it impolite to roll my eyes?” said Black.

Black argued the basic premise of much of the OGC opinion isn’t accurate.

Related Story: ‘This was the big one:’ Mayor removes Jacksonville’s last prominent Confederate monument

According to Black, the threat of removal from office for local officials would only apply to new violations after the bill’s July 1st, 2024, effective date.

“The retroactivity portion says you need to go in and put the statues up if you want to continue to receive arts and culture funding,” said Black.

Unlike Black’s bill which is written in a way that could potentially be interpreted either way, the bill filed in the Senate includes additional language specifying removal from office would only apply to local officials that take down monuments after July 1st, 2024.

Still, the mayor’s office told Action News Jax Friday it stands by the mayor’s statements made on Wednesday, where she asserted she’s not concerned about Black’s legislation.

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“I think that folks that want to are always gonna try to divide and I’m just going to keep trying to unify,” said Deegan.

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