SR320: SR320 National Statuary Hall Collection Replacement Committee; create

Georgia currently has two statues on display in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the U.S. Capitol: one of Dr. Crawford W. Long and one of Alexander Hamilton Stephens. Federal law lets a state ask Congress's Library committee to approve swapping out a statue it has contributed. This resolution formally approves replacing the Stephens statue with one honoring former President Jimmy Carter, who served as a Georgia state senator, governor, and U.S. president before his death. The resolution creates an eight-member National Statuary Hall Collection Replacement Committee, appointed by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and House Speaker, to pick a new in-state location for the Stephens statue, hire a sculptor, estimate costs, and raise private funding to pay for the replacement. The committee is set to dissolve on December 1, 2025. If federal officials approve, Georgia would then work with the Architect of the Capitol to complete the swap.

• Approves replacing Georgia's statue of Alexander Hamilton Stephens in the National Statuary Hall Collection with a statue of former President Jimmy Carter.
• Creates an eight-member committee, with four appointees from the Governor and two each from the Lieutenant Governor and House Speaker, to manage the replacement.
• Directs the committee to choose a new Georgia location for the removed Stephens statue and to hire a sculptor for the new Carter statue.
• Requires the committee to estimate all costs of the swap, including sculpting, pedestal fabrication, transport, and the unveiling ceremony, and to raise private funds to cover them.
• Sets the committee to automatically dissolve on December 1, 2025.
• Directs the Governor, once a location is chosen, to formally request approval from the Architect of the Capitol and the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress.

The resolution primarily affects state government officials, including the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the House, who appoint the replacement committee, along with the committee's members, any sculptor hired, and private donors who would fund the project. It also touches the U.S. Capitol's Architect and the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress, which must approve the swap.

If completed, one of Georgia's two statues in the U.S. Capitol would change from Alexander Hamilton Stephens, a Confederate vice president, to Jimmy Carter. The process depends on private fundraising rather than state tax dollars and requires federal approval before the swap can happen.

• The resolved clause formally approves replacing the Stephens statue with a statue of President Jimmy Carter in the National Statuary Hall Collection.
• Paragraph (1) creates the National Statuary Hall Collection Replacement Committee with eight members appointed by the Governor (4), Lieutenant Governor (2), and House Speaker (2).
• Paragraph (3) lists committee duties: choosing a new location for the Stephens statue, selecting a sculptor, approving statue plans, estimating costs, and securing private funding.
• Paragraph (6) specifies that costs come from private funds, though legislative members receive standard legislative allowances paid from appropriated funds.
• Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2025.
• The final section directs the Governor to submit a formal replacement request to the Architect of the Capitol and the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress once a location for the old statue is chosen.

1. 2025-03-03Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-28Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Jason Esteves (D, SD-035)Primary sponsor
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• Josh McLaurin (D, SD-014)
• Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Nabilah Islam Parkes (D, SD-007)
• Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)
• Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)
• Emanuel Jones (D, SD-010)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• David Lucas (D, SD-026)
• Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• Randal Mangham (D, SD-055)

• National Statuary Hall
• Jimmy Carter
• Alexander Hamilton Stephens
• U.S. Capitol statues
• Georgia history