Montgomery, Ala. (WDNews) – Alabama lawmakers are pushing forward new changes to the state’s Memorial Preservation Act with Senate Bill 344.
If passed, the bill would strengthen protections for historic buildings and monuments on public property and speed up the waiver process for local governments.
Under current law, memorial buildings or monuments that have been in place for 40 years or more cannot be removed, renamed, or altered without permission from the Committee on Alabama Monument Protection.
The new bill would require that if a building is torn down, any new structure on the site must keep the original name or a memorial marker must be installed.
Senate Bill 344 would also set a strict 90-day deadline for the committee to act on waiver requests. If the committee fails to respond within that time, the request would automatically be denied.
Penalties for unauthorized changes would also increase. Local governments could face fines of $5,000 per day until the violation is corrected. The bill also gives the Alabama Attorney General the power to file a civil suit against any public entity that breaks the law.
The proposed law would go into effect on October 1, 2025.
