A bill to replace Arkansas’s two representatives in the hall of statuary in the nation’s Capitol with statues of musician Johnny Cash and civil rights leader Daisy Bates got an OK again today from a House committee.

Sen . Dave Wallace’s SB 75 made it to the House floor once before, where it failed on a narrow vote after a sounding of the ballot struck enough the 54 votes originally cast for it. It went back to the House State Agencies commmittee, which approved it today after a brief debate.

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Rep. Jack Ladyman (R-Jonesboro) questioned the removal of the current statues, former senator James Clarke and lawyer Uriah Rose. “Aren’t we removing history?”

Sen. Dave Wallace said times change and many other states have changed statues. He said no state money would be spent to replace the statues, but acknowledged that no private fund-raising underway yet. He said passage of this bill would be followed by another bill to establish a fund under secretary of state oversight to collect private money.

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