--- title: SB 242. Capitol Art Standards Commission; placement of a monument in honor of the Honorable Clarence Thomas within the Nathan Deal Judicial Center; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb242 cite_as: SB 242, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb242 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb242.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb242/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70707 date: 2026-01-12 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb241.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb243.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 322 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb242.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 242 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-21 last_action: Senate Recommitted sponsors: - Jason Anavitarte - Ben Watson - Steve Gooch - Randy Robertson - Brian Strickland - Greg Dolezal - Timothy Bearden - Bill Cowsert - Matt Brass - John Kennedy text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB242/2025 upstream_id: 1979982 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - state monuments - Clarence Thomas - Nathan Deal Judicial Center - Capitol Art Standards Commission - private funding of public art --- # SB 242. Capitol Art Standards Commission; placement of a monument in honor of the Honorable Clarence Thomas within the Nathan Deal Judicial Center; provide ## Text 25 LC 50 1142 Senate Bill 242 By: Senators Anavitarte of the 31st, Watson of the 1st, Gooch of the 51st, Robertson of the 29th, Strickland of the 42nd and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Part 2 of Article 4 of Chapter 13 of Title 45 and Chap ter 3 of Title 50 of the1 Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Capitol Art Standards Commission and2 state flag, seal, and other symbols, respectively, so as to pro vide for duties and3 responsibilities of the commission; to provide for the placement of a monument in honor of4 the Honorable Clarence Thomas within the Nathan Deal Judicial C enter; to provide for5 related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 SECTION 1.8 Part 2 of Article 4 of Chapter 13 of Title 45 of the Official C ode of Georgia Annotated,9 relating to the Capitol Art Standards Commission, is amended in Code Section 45-13-71,10 relating to duties and responsibilities of commission, by adding a new paragraph to read as11 follows:12 "(5.1) To oversee the design, procurement, and placement of a monument honoring the13 Honorable Clarence Thomas pursuant to Code Section 50-3-130;"14 S. B. 242 - 1 - 25 LC 50 1142 SECTION 2.15 Chapter 3 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state flag, seal,16 and other symbols, is amended by adding a new article to read as follows:17 "ARTICLE 818 50-3-130.19 (a) Subject to the availability of funds, there shall be place d within the Nathan Deal20 Judicial Center a monument honoring the Honorable Clarence Thomas.21 (b)(1) Such monument shall be designed, procured, and placed b y the Capitol Art22 Standards Commission, subject to final approval by a monument committee composed23 of the following members of the General Assembly:24 (A) Two members of the House of Representatives appointed by t he Speaker of the25 House of Representatives;26 (B) Two members of the Senate appointed by the Lieutenant Governor; and27 (C) One member from each house of the General Assembly appoint ed by the28 Governor.29 (2) The monument committee established pursuant to this subsec tion shall stand30 abolished upon placement of such monument.31 (c) No public funds shall be expended for the design or procurement of such monument.32 Gifts and donations from private individuals, organizations, or foundations shall be33 accepted and expended by the Capitol Art Standards Commission t o carry out the34 requirements of this Code section.35 (d) Such monument shall be procured and placed as soon as practicable but not before the36 state has been granted any intellectual property license necessary for the purposes of this37 Code section."38 S. B. 242 - 2 - 25 LC 50 1142 SECTION 3.39 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.40 S. B. 242 - 3 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia Senate bill would direct the Capitol Art Standards Commission to design, fund, and place a monument honoring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas inside the Nathan Deal Judicial Center in Atlanta. ### Plain-language summary This bill sets up a process for placing a monument honoring Justice Clarence Thomas, a Georgia native and U.S. Supreme Court justice, inside the Nathan Deal Judicial Center. It amends Georgia's law on the Capitol Art Standards Commission (O.C.G.A. § 45-13-71) to give the commission a new job: overseeing the design, procurement, and placement of the monument. The bill adds a new section to state law (O.C.G.A. § 50-3-130) spelling out the details. A special monument committee made up of two House members, two Senate members, and one member each appointed by the Governor from each chamber must give final approval before the monument is placed; that committee dissolves once the monument goes up. No state money can be used to design or buy the monument. Instead, the commission must rely on private gifts and donations. The monument cannot be placed until the state secures any needed intellectual property license. ### What it does - Adds a new duty to the Capitol Art Standards Commission's responsibilities (O.C.G.A. § 45-13-71) to oversee a monument honoring Justice Clarence Thomas. - Creates a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 50-3-130) authorizing placement of the monument inside the Nathan Deal Judicial Center. - Establishes a temporary monument approval committee made up of legislators and gubernatorial appointees that must sign off before the monument is installed. - Bans the use of public funds for designing or procuring the monument, requiring it be paid for entirely through private gifts and donations. - Requires the state to obtain any necessary intellectual property license before the monument can be built and placed. - Dissolves the monument committee automatically once the monument has been placed. ### Who it affects The Capitol Art Standards Commission, which gains new oversight duties; members of the General Assembly and the Governor, who appoint the monument approval committee; and private donors or organizations who would fund the project, since no state money can be used. ### Why it matters If enacted, a monument to Justice Clarence Thomas would be added to a state judicial building, funded entirely through private donations rather than taxpayer money, giving legislators and the Governor a formal role in approving its design and placement before it goes up. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 45-13-71 to add commission oversight of the monument's design, procurement, and placement. - Section 2 creates new O.C.G.A. § 50-3-130, authorizing the monument's placement in the Nathan Deal Judicial Center, subject to available funds. - Subsection (b) creates a five-member monument committee (two House members, two Senate members, one Governor appointee from each chamber) that must give final approval; it dissolves once the monument is placed. - Subsection (c) prohibits public funds for design or procurement and directs that only private gifts and donations be used. - Subsection (d) requires the monument to be procured and placed only after the state secures any needed intellectual property license. - Section 3 repeals conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-21) - Last action: Senate Recommitted (2026-01-12) - Sponsors: Jason Anavitarte, Ben Watson, Steve Gooch, Randy Robertson, Brian Strickland, Greg Dolezal, Timothy Bearden, Bill Cowsert, Matt Brass, John Kennedy - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70707 > The history, votes, and amendments (322 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb242.md?full=1