HJR 8 (LSB 2468YH (5) 91)

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 8

BY  BAGNIEWSKI, CROKEN, KRESSIG, AMOS JR., WILSON, KURTH, BROWN-POWERS, WILBURN, B. MEYER, KONFRST, R. JOHNSON, JUDGE, and OLSON

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

A Joint Resolution relating to the placement of a statue in the United States capitol honoring Governor Robert D. Ray, and making appropriations.

   WHEREAS, each state may provide two statues of notable citizens for display in the United States capitol, and may replace the statues if a resolution to do so is approved by a state’s legislature and governor; and
   WHEREAS, Governor Robert Dolph Ray was born September 26, 1928, in Des Moines, grew up in the heart of the Drake neighborhood, and attended Roosevelt high school; and
   WHEREAS, Governor Ray spent two years in Japan as a member of the United States army during World War II and earned a bachelor’s degree on the G.I. Bill and then a law degree from Drake university; and
   WHEREAS, Governor Ray was elected as the thirty-eighth governor of Iowa and served with bipartisan support for fourteen years; and
   WHEREAS, Governor Ray was a trailblazer on multiple fronts, from establishing the commission on the status of women and the Iowa department of transportation to eliminating the sales tax on groceries and prescription drugs; and
   WHEREAS, the Iowa burials protection Act of 1976, championed by Governor Ray, was the first state statute that protected American Indian remains and was a predecessor to the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act; and
   WHEREAS, Governor Ray set a high-water mark for the generosity of states in creating Iowa’s refugee resettlement program which welcomed thousands of Southeast Asian refugees after the end of the Vietnam Conflict; and
   WHEREAS, Governor Ray’s commitment to public service continued in his roles as interim mayor of Des Moines in 1997 and as president of Drake university in 1998; and
   WHEREAS, Governor Ray’s commitment to civility and moral leadership led to the creation of the institute for character development at Drake university’s Robert D. and Billie Ray Center; NOW THEREFORE,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.
  REPLACEMENT AUTHORIZATION.
  The state of Iowa authorizes the replacement of the statue of Samuel J. Kirkwood with a statue honoring Governor Robert D. Ray.
    Sec. 2.
  COMMITTEE CREATED.
  A committee of seven is created, to be appointed by the governor and to serve at the pleasure of the governor, to exchange the statue of Samuel J. Kirkwood currently on display in the United States capitol with a statue of Governor Ray.
   1.  The committee shall select its own chairperson and establish its rules of procedure. The committee shall meet as may be deemed necessary by the chairperson. A majority of the members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
   2.  Members shall serve without compensation or reimbursement for actual expenses.
   3.  The committee shall raise all of the moneys necessary for the operation of the committee; and shall solicit donations to exchange the statue, commission the creation of a new statue, transport the replaced statue to the Iowa capitol building, and make all arrangements with the architect of the United States capitol necessary for the new statue to be put into place.
    Sec. 3.
  ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.
  The Iowa economic development authority shall provide all necessary administrative support for the committee and shall administer the capitol statuary fund created in this resolution.
    Sec. 4.
  CAPITOL STATUARY FUND.
  A capitol statuary fund is created in the state treasury, to be administered by the Iowa economic development authority. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the authority for the purposes specified in section 2 of this resolution. Any moneys remaining after the exchange of statues shall be used to suitably restore and relocate the Kirkwood statue. The authority may accept gifts, grants, bequests, and other moneys, including but not limited to state or federal moneys and in-kind contributions for deposit in the fund. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Notwithstanding section 8.33, any unexpended or unencumbered moneys remaining in the fund shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure by the authority in succeeding fiscal years for the purposes specified in section 2 of this resolution.
    Sec. 5.
  DISPLAY OF REPLACED STATUE.
  The department of administrative services shall provide for a perpetual display of the replaced statue at a suitable location within the Iowa capitol building.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This joint resolution relates to the display of a statue of former governor Robert D. Ray in the United States capitol. The joint resolution requests that the statue of Samuel J. Kirkwood currently on display in the United States capitol be replaced with a statue of former governor Robert D. Ray. The joint resolution creates a seven-member committee, appointed by the governor, to raise, through donations, all moneys necessary to make this exchange. Administrative support for the committee shall be provided by the Iowa economic development authority.
   The joint resolution creates a capitol statuary fund in the state treasury, administered by the Iowa economic development authority. The fund will be used to finance committee operations, the exchange of the statuary, and the relocation of the Kirkwood statue. The joint resolution requires the department of administrative services to provide for the perpetual display of the Kirkwood statue at a suitable location within the Iowa capitol building.