Amends TCA Title 4; Title 11 and Title 12.

This bill requires the state museum to relinquish and transfer possession, maintenance, storage, and the process of preservation of all historical relics relating to the Confederate States of America that are not currently on display, and currently under the care and management of the state museum, including all items related to the Confederate States of America assumed from the Tennessee historical society beginning in 1927, to the Sons of Confederate Veterans' nonprofit organization to be managed by the general executive council of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and housed at the Sons of Confederate Veterans' general headquarters in this state. <br /> <br /> This bill provides the following:<br /> <br /> (1) Taxpayer monies from residents of this state must not be used to effect the physical transfer of the collection of artifacts from the state museum to the Sons of Confederate Veterans' general headquarters in this state. The total cost and labor to complete the transition must be paid for and conducted by the Sons of Confederate Veterans;<br /> <br /> (2) The appropriate level of care, handling, and protection for the preparation and transportation of the historical items will be determined and managed by the curators of the confederate museum at the headquarters of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. This bill specifies in detail other requirements in regard to this provision;<br /> <br /> (3) Should the ownership of any historical items be in dispute after transfer from the state museum to the Sons of Confederate Veterans' museum, determination of ownership must be decided following presentation of the question to the joint government operations committee of the general assembly;<br /> <br /> (4) Artifacts related to the Confederate States of America in this state's history that are currently on display prior to the effective date of this bill that are not in storage, must remain in the possession of the state museum and remain on permanent display for public observance and educational purposes inside the state museum. This bill specifies that it applies to the transfer, cost of care, and management of all items related to the Confederate States of America to the Sons of Confederate Veterans that are under the care of the state museum which are not currently on public display inside the physical showroom of the Civil War and Reconstruction permanent exhibition at the state museum. Should any of the historical items currently on display in the Civil War and Reconstruction permanent exhibition at the state museum be removed from public view, except for the temporary act of physical preservation or maintenance of the historical items, possession of such items removed from public view must be immediately transferred to the Sons of Confederate Veterans' organization for full ownership, care, and preservation; and<br /> <br /> (5) This bill specifies that it does not provide for the transfer of the Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest Bust created in 1977 by Joseph E. Johnston, Camp number 28, Sons of Confederate Veterans, and which was donated for placement in the state capitol where it remained on display until Friday July 23, 2021, when it was transferred to the Tennessee state museum.<br />