Some lawmakers hope to have more control over what statues are and are not allowed inside the state Capitol rotunda.

Currently, those decisions are left to the Historic Properties Advisory Commission.

House Bill 513, sponsored by State Representative David Hale, would shift that authority to the Kentucky General Assembly.

Hill says his bill is not in response to the commission's decision to remove a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from the Rotunda in 2020.

This this bill, sir, is is not pertaining to that.

This I am more concerned with what we have there presently.

That statue has been removed.

That is behind us.

My my goal of this bill was to deal with the statues, the artwork and the beautiful artwork and the statues that are there currently.

And I personally believe that as elected officials, we should have the authority and the final say so to make that decision.

House Democratic floor leader Derrick Graham, a retired high school social studies teacher, says he thinks the right people are already making the right decisions.

I would hope that we would put these kind of things in the hands of those individuals who serve on the committee, who are appointed by the governor, who are well known and well regarded in regards to the history of the Commonwealth.

House Bill 513 would also hold the members of the Historic Properties Advisory Commission financially responsible for removing or reinstalling artwork in the rotunda if they acted without the General Assembly's approval.

The bill passed a committee yesterday on a 15 to 4 vote and is now headed to the full House for consideration.

There.