07 LC 38
0326
House
Bill 640
By:
Representatives Benton of the
31st,
Bearden of the
68th,
England of the
108th,
Hatfield of the
177th,
and McCall of the
30th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 1 of Chapter 3 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to state and other flags, so as to provide certain
protections for statues, monuments, plaques, banners, structures, and other
commemorative symbols; to provide certain requirements for several government
entities regarding statues, monuments, plaques, banners, structures, and other
commemorative symbols; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting
laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
1 of Chapter 3 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to state and other flags, is amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section
50-3-1, relating to the description of the state flag and defacing public
monuments, as follows:
"(b)(1)
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or other entity to
mutilate, deface, defile, or abuse contemptuously any publicly owned
statue,
monument, plaque, marker,
flag, banner,
structure name, display, or memorial which
is located on
real property owned by the State of Georgia or any of its departments, boards,
commissions, authorities, or instrumentalities, or any county or municipal
government or their departments, boards, commissions, or authorities, local
boards of education, the board of regents, or any institution at the University
System of Georgia dedicated to
a historical
entity, event or series of events, nation, or government, and
which
honors,
or recounts the military service
or other
service of any past or present military
personnel or
citizen of this state, the United States
of America or the several states thereof, or the Confederate States of America
or the several states thereof, and no officer, body, or representative of state
or local
government,
county or municipal government, local board of education, the board of regents,
or any institution of the University System of
Georgia or any department, agency,
authority, or instrumentality thereof shall remove or conceal from display any
such monument, plaque, marker,
flag, banner,
building name, display, or memorial for
the purpose of preventing the visible display of the same. A violation of this
paragraph shall constitute a misdemeanor.
(2)
No publicly owned
statue,
monument,
or
memorial,
plaque, marker, flag, banner, structure name, or
display erected, constructed, created, or
maintained on
the
public
real
property owned
by the State of Georgia
of this
state or its agencies, departments,
authorities, or
instrumentalities,
or any county or municipal government, local board of education, the board of
regents, or any institution of the University System of Georgia which is
dedicated to a historical entity, event or series of events, nation, or
government, or which honors or recounts the military service or other
service
in honor of
the military service of any past or
present military personnel
or
citizen of this state, the United States
of America or the several states thereof, or the Confederate States of America
or the several states thereof shall be relocated, removed, concealed, obscured,
or altered in any fashion
by any
officer, body, or representative of any county or municipal government, local
board of education, the board of regents, or any institution of the University
System of Georgia or any of such entities´ respective departments, boards,
commissions, authorities, or
instrumentalities; provided, however, that
appropriate measures for the preservation, protection, and interpretation of
such monuments or memorials shall not be prohibited.
(3)
Conduct prohibited by paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection shall be
enjoined by the appropriate superior court upon proper application
therefor.
(4)
It
With exception
of the lawful owners of real property housing any privately owned property
protected by this subsection, it shall be
unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or other entity acting without
authority to mutilate, deface, defile, abuse contemptuously, relocate, remove,
conceal, or obscure any privately owned
statue,
monument, plaque, marker,
flag, banner,
structure name, display, or memorial which
is located on
privately owned real property and which is
dedicated to, honors, or recounts the military service
or other
service of any past or present military
personnel or
citizen of this state, the United States
of America or the several states thereof, or the Confederate States of America
or the several states thereof. Any person or entity who suffers injury or
damages as a result of a violation of this paragraph may bring an action
individually or in a representative capacity against the person or persons
committing such violations to seek injunctive relief and to recover general and
exemplary damages sustained as a result of such person´s or persons´
unlawful actions.
(5)
Nothing in this Act shall prevent the state, county, or municipal governments,
including their departments, boards, commissions, authorities, or
instrumentalities, or an institution of the University System of Georgia from
relocating statues, monuments, plaques, markers, flags, banners, or displays
described in this Code section provided
such
relocations
are required for the construction or expansion or other alteration of edifices,
buildings, roads, streets, highways, or other transportation construction
project or projects. Any statue, monument, plaque, marker, flag, banner, or
display relocated pursuant to this Code section shall be relocated to a site of
similar prominence, honor, visibility, availability, and access within the same
jurisdiction from which it is to be moved and such statue or historic symbol
shall not be relocated to a museum, cemetery, or mausoleum, unless its original
location was within a cemetery, museum, or
mausoleum."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.