The Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017 (Ala. Code § 41-9-230 through 237, 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 40 years or longer.
12-915: The bill originated as response to a 2015 attempt by the City of Birmingham, whose residents are predominately black (71%), to remove the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument . The law was ultimately unsuccessful in keeping the monument erect, as the monument was taken down by the city in June 2020, during the George Floyd protests . The bill, unsuccessfully introduced in 2016, was co-sponsored by Republican Representative Mack Butler and Republican Senator Gerald Allen in March–April 2017, and signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey on May 25, 2017. The law created an Alabama Monument Protection Committee,
24-399: A group of 11 members who will decide whether historic buildings and monuments may be moved or renamed. African-American lawmakers like Juandalynn Givan , Napoleon Bracy Jr. and Hank Sanders were opposed to the bill. 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
36-537: Is an elected, constitutional officer of the State of Alabama . The office of the attorney general is located at the state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama . Henry Hitchcock was elected Alabama's first attorney general in 1819. As is common in many states, the attorney general is the chief lawyer of the state. He is called upon as the chief defender of the laws of Alabama, the lawyer for state officials and represents
48-540: The Confederacy held a meeting to decide what to do with the plinth and, in 1900, raised money for construction of the obelisk. The 52-foot tall (16 m) monument was completed on April 27, 1905. In 2017, following widespread concern about the monument being a symbol of historic racism , the Birmingham city council erected a barrier surrounding the memorial, resulting in a lawsuit being brought against it by
60-592: The attorney general may begin legal proceedings on behalf of the state or on behalf of consumers damaged by illegal or bad faith commercial transactions. Eight divisions comprise the attorney general's office. Those divisions include: a General Crimes Division, a Public Corruption Division, Civil Division, Appellate Division, Consumer Protection Division, Constitutional Defense Division and a Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Division chiefs include Clay J. Crenshaw, Olivia Martin, Billington Garret, M. Matt Hart, Bruce M. Lieberman, and Azzie Taylor. The chief deputy attorney general
72-544: The city of Birmingham for violating the statute. Mayor Randall Woodfin said the expected $ 25,000 fine for removing the statue would be much more affordable than the cost of continued unrest in the city. This Alabama -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a sculpture in the United States is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Alabama Attorney General The attorney general of Alabama
84-562: 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. On January 14, 2019, a circuit judge ruled the law is an unconstitutional violation of the right to free speech, and cannot be enforced. The ruling was put on hold by the Alabama Supreme Court , which subsequently upheld the law unanimously. The penalty for violating
96-475: The law was fixed at a $ 25,000 fine. The cities of Birmingham and Mobile paid this fine in 2020 rather than keep their confederate memorials. In the 2021 legislative session, a proposed amendment to the Act sponsored by Representative Mike Holmes did not pass. Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument (Birmingham, Alabama) The Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument was a commemorative obelisk that
108-521: The monument, the city council removed the obelisk , leaving only the plinth. The state Attorney General responded by filing a new lawsuit against the city council saying the removal was in violation of the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017, a law passed specifically to prevent the removal of this monument. It was the most prominent Confederate monument in the state. The Alabama Attorney General filed suit against
120-410: The state in all matters brought before a court of law or tribunal. The attorney general (AG) also provides advisory opinions to local and state governments when questions arise about the constitutionality of proposed laws and regulations. It is the task of the attorney general to represent the state when questions arise concerning various criminal sentences including the death penalty. From time to time,
132-476: The state. In January 2019, an Alabama court declared unconstitutional the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act that prohibited "alteration" of the monument. The lower court's decision was reversed in November 2019 by the state Supreme Court, which upheld a fine of $ 25,000 against the city council. Following protests in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd , during which protestors damaged and tried to remove
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#1732775547395144-657: Was erected in Linn Park, Birmingham, Alabama in 1905. The monument was dismantled and removed in 2020. The cornerstone of the Monument plinth was laid during the 1894 Reunion of United Confederate Veterans on Confederate Decoration Day , April 26. and contained a Bible and Confederate flag. The slab of rock was unused for several years, though a surplus artillery piece from the Spanish–American War of 1898 once rested on it. On May 29, 1896, The United Daughters of
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