TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The fight over monuments in Florida continued this week as a Senate committee advanced legislation dubbed the “Historical Monuments and Memorials Protection Act”.
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It took years of advocacy to finally bring down Jacksonville’s two most prominent Confederate monuments, the last of which was removed in December, but under the bill moving through the Florida Senate, they could be put back up.
“Being in our communities, walking through our downtown areas, walking through our parks, having monuments and memorials that can remind every Floridian about where we came from, where we’re headed, I think is invaluable,” said Senate sponsor Jonathan Martin (R-Fort Myers) in the bill’s first committee hearing Monday.
The legislation would require all Confederate monuments and memorials removed since October 2020 to be put back up by the local government that removed them, or else those municipalities would run the risk of losing their arts and culture funding from the state.
Local officials who facilitate the removal of monuments and memorials after the bill’s July 1st effective date could face civil suits and have to pay for their restoration out of pocket, or even be removed from office by the Governor.
In the bill’s first Senate hearing, State Senator Tracie Davis (D-Jacksonville) argued while the bill applies to all historical monuments and memorials, the intent seems to be targeted at restoring Confederate monuments like the ones taken down in Jacksonville last year.
“This is a thinly veiled, targeted attack against my city and my constituents. Especially people that look like me,” said Davis.
The bill cleared its first Senate stop on a party-line vote despite the opposition from Democratic lawmakers.
State Representative Dean Black (R-Yulee) is sponsoring the House version.
He told Action News Jax Tuesday he expects the legislation will soon get its first hearing in that chamber as well.
He also said he believes the removal of the Springfield Park Confederate statue in Jacksonville helped make the bill a legislative priority.
“What the mayor did in Jacksonville certainly helped to highlight the real need for this bill,” said Black.
The bill still has two more committee stops in the Senate before reaching the chamber floor and three more in the House, where it still has not officially been scheduled for a hearing yet.
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