Republican move to honor Justice Thomas with Georgia statue could trigger partisan clash

Senate Republicans are renewing their effort to honor Georgia-born U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas with a statue.

But instead of placing it on the grounds of the state Capitol, Senate GOP leaders now are advocating for the monument to stand at the judicial building across the street. And it could bring a thorny new political fight.

Under newly introduced Senate Bill 242, a six-member Capitol Art Standards Commission would oversee the design and placement of a statue of Thomas within the Nathan Deal Judicial Center. The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, says the monument would be paid for by outside groups and private individuals, with no public funding involved.

Anavitarte and other Senate Republicans have pressed for years to honor Thomas with a statue on the Capitol grounds, but the legislation has stalled in the Georgia House. Thomas was born in tiny Pin Point, near Savannah, in 1948.

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