Kentucky House backs giving lawmakers authority over statues in Capitol Rotunda

Kentucky lawmakers would claim authority over what statues are installed or removed from the state Capitol's Rotunda under a bill passed Friday by the GOP-led House, a move the bill sponsor said has nothing to do with the removal of a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis four years ago.

Republican state Rep. David Hale said his legislation is forward looking amid preparations to renovate Kentucky's statehouse and «has no reflection on what has been done in the past.”

The debate turned testy when Democratic Rep. Josie Raymond tried asking Hale if the bill could be used to restore the statue of a “racist, slaver and secessionist like Jefferson Davis” or someone as “equally reprehensible.” Her question was ruled out of order and the House vote followed immediately.

The bill passed 77-17 to advance to the Senate, where Republicans also have an overwhelming majority.

In an interview afterward, Hale said his legislation would not allow lawmakers to act on their own to install or remove a statue or other permanent Rotunda display. Instead, they would respond to recommendations from the state Historic Properties Advisory Commission, he said.

Hale also said the proposal was not a response to the Davis statue's removal.

“I have no intention of making any kind of a request to bring anything back that’s gone,” he said.

The bill comes nearly four years after the Davis statue was removed from the ornate Capitol Rotunda — a popular place for rallies when the legislature is in session. For decades, the Davis statue stood several feet away from a statue of Abraham Lincoln — his Civil War adversary and the president who issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Both were Kentucky natives.

The Lincoln statue is placed in the center