RHB/1/18
Sponsored by Evan Hostetler, Alexa Williams of Ravenwood High School
This legislation was filed in the General Services category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Section 1: Terms defined in this act, unless the context requires otherwise, shall be defined as |
| 4 | follows |
| 5 | Advocacy: public support for a recommendation of a particular cause or policy |
| 6 | Civil war: a war between citizens of the same country. In the context of this bill, the Civil War |
| 7 | refers to the war between the Union and the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865. |
| 8 | Commission: a group of people officially charged with a particular function that serves as an |
| 9 | external review process from a legislature. |
| 10 | Heritage: valued objects and qualities such as cultural tradition and historic buildings |
| 11 | Private properties: The ownership of property by private parties |
| 12 | Public property: Land and other assets that belong to the general public and not to a private owner |
| 13 | Monument: a statue, building, or other structure erected to commemorate a famous or notable |
| 14 | person or event. This could be considered a memorial as well. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Section 2: Under this act, the state of Tennessee will remove, relocate, and replace the 70 |
| 17 | monuments commemorating the Confederate States of America on public property. These |
| 18 | monuments are generally located in and around county courthouses, government buildings, |
| 19 | cemeteries, and public spaces. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Section 3: The new pieces of art (sculptures, monuments, memorials, etc.) replacing the |
| 22 | Confederate monuments will memorialize the Civil War, but with subject matter that doesn’t |
| 23 | glorify the values of the Confederate States of America. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | Section 4: To accomplish this task, a commission will be established under the Tennessee |
| 26 | Department of Environment and Conservation entitled The Tennessee Heritage Renewal |
| 27 | Commission (THRC). This commission will be composed of ten members who will serve staggered |
| 28 | three-year terms. The THRC will aim to redesign seven monuments each calendar year. Members |
| 29 | of the commission will have expertise in history, education, art, community advocacy, and cultural |
| 30 | diversity. The commission will meet once a month. Members will be appointed in the following |
| 31 | manner: |
| 32 | Three members will be appointed by the Governor of Tennessee |
| 33 | Two members will be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives |
| 34 | Two members will be appointed by the Lt. Governor/Speaker of the Senate |
| 35 | One member will be appointed by the Tennessee Historical Commission |
| 36 | One member will be appointed by the Tennessee Arts Commission |
| 37 | |
| 38 | The Commissioner of Environment and Conservation will serve as an ex officio non- voting |
| 39 | member and the chairman of the THRC. In cases of a tie, the commissioner will serve as the tie- |
| 40 | breaking vote. |
| 41 | |
| 42 | Section 5: The THRC will be expected to perform a full comprehensive evaluation of the 70 |
| 43 | Confederate monuments on Tennessee public property. From there, they will craft a list that |
| 44 | prioritizes the monuments that they aim to redesign based on their evaluation criteria. |
| 45 | |
| 46 | Section 6: Once a monument has been chosen for renewal, a representative from the THRC will |
| 47 | reach out to local authorities concerning the removal of it. Furthermore, this representative will |
| 48 | reach out to local museums, historical societies or organizations that have ties to American History |
| 49 | and the Civil War, or private properties that promote the education of the events of the Civil War, |
| 50 | asking them if they will store and preserve the piece of art removed. |
| 51 | |
| 52 | Section 7 The THRC will call upon community members from the area from which the work was |
| 53 | removed for proposals that memorialize the Civil War in a way that promotes diversity, inclusivity, |
| 54 | and unity amongst the citizens of Tennessee. Once a proposal has been voted on created by |
| 55 | community members or members of the THRC themselves, an artist will be chosen within the |
| 56 | community (voted on by commission members) to create a design for the monument replacing the |
| 57 | old one. |
| 58 | |
| 59 | Section 8: The THRC shall provide a quarterly progress report to the Governor, state legislature, |
| 60 | and public regarding the activities of the commission and the progress of statute revision. This will |
| 61 | help keep the commission transparent in their decision-making. If any member appears to be |
| 62 | partaking in any action that delays or hampers the implementation of the commission’s goal, they |
| 63 | will be removed from the commission and replaced by another appointee. |
| 64 | |
| 65 | Section 9: This bill will have a recurring cost of $2,230,000 per year in order to pay for the 7 |
| 66 | monuments redesigned by the commission each year. The costs are allocated as such and will be |
| 67 | drawn from the Department of Environment and Conservation: |
| 68 | $2,010,000 will be used to remove and transport the monuments removed and install the |
| 69 | monuments created. |
| 70 | $150,000 will be reserved for the materials used to create these monuments and compensation for |
| 71 | the artists who design and create them. |
| 72 | $70,000 will be allocated towards compensation for the 10 commission members with $7,000 per |
| 73 | member (excluding the ex officio). |
| 74 | |
| 75 | Section 10: All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this bill are hereby repealed. |
| 76 | |
| 77 | Section 11: This act will take effect upon passage, the public welfare requiring it. |
| 78 |