SB60 Summary: Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017

• Prohibits relocation, removal, alteration, renaming, or disturbance of monuments on public property that have been in place for 20 or more years without court permission.

• Requires monuments on public property in place less than 20 years to obtain a waiver from the Committee on Alabama Monument Protection before any disturbance.

• Creates the Committee on Alabama Monument Protection with 10 members including legislators, state officials, historians, and local government representatives, with initial members appointed by September 1, 2017.

• Establishes a waiver process requiring applicants to submit resolutions, documentation of monument origins, and written commentary from heritage and preservation organizations; waiver is automatically granted if committee fails to act within 90 days.

• Imposes $25,000 fine per violation for removing protected monuments without waiver or failing to comply with committee conditions; fines deposited into Alabama State Historic Preservation Fund.

• Exempts art in museums, Department of Transportation projects, universities, utilities, and port authorities when monuments may interfere with operations, though these entities must strive to preserve monuments to greatest extent possible.