Asks Joint Committee on Library of Congress to approve replacing NJ statues of Richard Stockton and Philip Kearny in National Statuary Hall Collection with statues of Harriet Tubman and Alice Paul.

A4119

ASSEMBLY, No. 4119

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY

District 7 (Burlington)

SYNOPSIS

���� Asks Joint Committee on Library of Congress to
approve replacing NJ statues of Richard Stockton and Philip Kearny in National
Statuary Hall Collection with statues of Harriet Tubman and Alice Paul.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
to provide for the replacement of the New Jersey
statues of Richard Stockton and Philip Kearny in the National Statuary Hall
Collection of the United States Capitol with statues of Harriet Tubman and
Alice Paul.

Whereas,

In 1864, the United States Congress established the National Statuary Hall
Collection in the Old Hall of the House of Representatives in the United States
Capitol and authorized each state to contribute to the collection two statues
to represent important historical figures from that state; and

Whereas,

New Jersey currently has on display in the National Statuary Hall Collection
statues of Richard Stockton and Philip Kearny given by the State in 1888; and

Whereas,
In 2000, the United
States Congress enacted legislation authorizing states to request that the
Joint Committee on the Library of Congress approve the replacement of a statue
the state had provided for display in the hall�s collection; and

Whereas
,

Despite the significant contributions of Statesman Richard Stockton during the
Revolutionary War and General Philip Kearny during the Civil War, it is
important for New Jersey to highlight different icons over time in the National
Statuary Hall; and

Whereas
,

Harriet Tubman,
an abolitionist, Civil War scout,
emancipator, and suffragist
, is a significant historical and civil rights
figure; and

Whereas
,
Born into slavery,
Harriet Tubman escaped and later risked her life numerous times to rescue, emancipate,
and aid in the emancipation of approximately 140 enslaved persons, utilizing
the antislavery Underground Railroad; and

Whereas
,

While living in New Jersey in the early 1850s, Tubman used her earnings working
in Cape May to help fund her expeditions and missions; and

Whereas
,

Tubman�s legacy of emancipation and abolitionism in New Jersey will be
immortalized with the Harriet Tubman Museum of Cape May; and

Whereas
,

During the Civil War, Tubman enlisted into the Union Army as a scout and spy,
and was the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war when she led the
raid at Combahee Ferry, freeing over 700 enslaved persons; and

Whereas,

Alice Paul, a women�s rights activist and suffragist, is also a significant
historical and civil rights figure who was born in Moorestown, New Jersey; and

Whereas,

Paul became involved in the women�s suffrage movement in the United States in
1910, and worked two years with the National American Woman Suffrage
Association, cofounded the Congressional Union seeking a federal constitutional
amendment for women�s suffrage, and in 1916, formed the National Woman�s Party;
and

Whereas,

Paul was instrumental in the 1919 passage and 1920 ratification of the
Nineteenth Amendment, which prohibited denying any citizen the right to vote on
the basis of sex, penned the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923, and continued to
advocate on behalf of women until her death on July 9, 1977; and

Whereas,

Harriet Tubman and Alice Paul, due to their extraordinary contributions to the
State of New Jersey and the United States, are worthy of recognition in the
National Statuary Hall Collection; now, therefore,

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� The State of New Jersey
requests that the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress approve the
replacement of the New Jersey statues of Richard Stockton and Philip Kearny in
the National Statuary Hall Collection with statues of Harriet Tubman and Alice
Paul.

���� 2.��� The New Jersey Secretary
of State shall submit to the United States Architect of the Capitol for his or
her review for completeness a written request from the Governor to approve the
replacements.� The Governor�s request shall also include a description of the
locations in New Jersey where the replaced statues of Richard Stockton and
Philip Kearny will be displayed after the statues are transferred and a copy of
this act requesting such replacements.� After such review, the Governor and
Legislature shall call on the architect to forward the request to the Joint
Committee on the Library of Congress for its approval or denial.� If the
request is approved by the committee, the architect and the Secretary of State,
acting on behalf of the State of New Jersey, shall enter into an agreement
pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 2132(b).

���� 3.��� a.���� There is created
the National Statuary Hall Selection Committee.� The committee shall be
temporary and consist of seven members, appointed as follows:

���� (1)�� two members appointed by
the Governor, upon recommendation of the Senate President, not more than one of
whom shall be from the same political party;

���� (2)�� two members appointed by
the Governor, upon recommendation of the Speaker of the General Assembly, not
more than one of whom shall be from the same political party;

���� (3)�� the New Jersey Secretary
of State, or the designee thereof; and

���� (4)�� two members appointed by
the Governor, not more than one of whom shall be from the same political party.

���� The members of the committee
shall select a member of the committee to be the chair and a member of a
different political party to be vice chair.� Any vacancy shall be filled in the
same manner as the original appointment.� Members shall serve without compensation,
but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of
their duties.

���� The chair shall appoint a
secretary to the committee, who need not be a member of the committee.

���� A quorum of the members shall
be the majority of the members.� The members shall be appointed within 45 days
following the enactment of this act and shall organize as soon as practicable
after the appointment of the majority of its members.

���� b.��� Upon approval by the
Joint Committee of the Library of Congress and pursuant to the agreement
provided for in section 2 of this act, the committee shall:

���� (1)�� select a sculptor or
sculptors to create the statues of Harriet Tubman and Alice Paul to be placed
in the National Statuary Hall Collection, and review and approve the plans for
the statues; and

���� (2)�� identify a method to
obtain the funding necessary to pay for the following items:

���� (a)�� the sculptor or
sculptors for designing and carving or casting the statues;

���� (b)�� the design and
fabrication of the pedestals;

���� (c)�� the transportation of
the statues and pedestals to the United States Capitol;

���� (d)�� the removal and
transportation of the replaced statues;

���� (e)�� the temporary placement
of the new statues in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol for the
unveiling ceremonies;

���� (f)�� the unveiling
ceremonies; and

���� (g)�� such other expenses that
the committee determines are necessary to incur to replace the New Jersey
statues of Richard Stockton and Philip Kearny with statues of Harriet Tubman
and Alice Paul.

���� c.���� The committee shall
complete its work within one year of its initial organizational meeting and
terminate upon completion of a written report on its activities.� Copies of the
report shall be transmitted to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the President
of the Senate, the Speaker of the General Assembly, and any other official
required to receive reports pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164
(C.52:14-19.1).� Copies of the report shall also be made available to the
general public.

���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� The purpose of this bill is to
request that the New Jersey statues of Richard Stockton and Philip Kearny in
the National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol be replaced
with statues of Harriet Tubman and Alice Paul.

���� Harriet Tubman was an
abolitionist, Civil War scout, emancipator, and suffragist.� Tubman was born
into slavery, and after risking her life to escape to the north, she embarked
on numerous missions to liberate dozens of other enslaved people.� Tubman was
instrumental during the Civil War as a scout and spy and was the first woman to
lead an armed expedition during the war.� Tubman�s legacy has extended
throughout the United States, including the Harriet Tubman Museum of Cape May,
which is set to open this year.

���� Alice Paul was a women�s
rights activist, suffragist, and principal leader of the early 1900�s campaign
for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.� She was born
on January 11, 1885, in Moorestown, New Jersey.� Alice Paul was instrumental in
the passage and ratification in 1920 of the Nineteenth Amendment, which
prohibited denying any citizen the right to vote on the basis of sex.

���� The bill enables the State,
following the procedure established in federal law, to formally ask the Joint
Committee on the Library of Congress to approve the replacement of the statues
of Richard Stockton and Philip Kearny the State had provided for display in the
National Statuary Hall Collection.� If approved by the Joint Committee, the new
statues would be of Harriet Tubman and Alice Paul.

���� The bill establishes a
temporary, bi-partisan, seven-member committee made up of:

���� (1)�� four members appointed
by the Governor, upon recommendation of the Senate President and the Speaker of
the General Assembly;

���� (2)�� the New Jersey Secretary
of State, or a designee thereof; and

���� (3)�� two members appointed by
the Governor.

���� The committee will select a
sculptor or sculptors for the statues and determine how to fund its completion
and transportation to the United States Capitol.