There’s a new proposition for where the Saturn rocket stands at the I-65 Ardmore Welcome Center, in Elkmont, in a bill sponsored by state senator Tom Butler, who represents part of Limestone County. The other three Limestone senators also cosponsored the bill which has been introduced and referred to the State Governmental Affairs Committee which Butler chairs.

SB237 would designate The Alabama State Council on the Arts to design, construct, and install a replica of the Saturn 1B rocket that has been standing on the side of the interstate for more than 40 years.

At the end of January, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center said the rocket could pose a safety issue if left in place. NASA owns the Saturn 1B and has loaned it to the Rocket Center for its display along I-65. Together, they said they would partner with “federal, state and local leaders to advocate for a meaningful, sustainable, and economically feasible replacement for the iconic rocket.”

The Rocket Center estimated disassembly and reconstruction of the Saturn 1B itself would cost over $7 million “with no guarantees that the rocket would withstand the process.” Repairs would have to be done on site, the center said. That could take more than a year, and inevitably the rocket would deteriorate because it was not designed to withstand the elements.

While the bill doesn’t designate any funding to the Council on the Arts for the rocket, it does say the council may accept public or private funds or services as well as use money appropriated by the legislature to the council.

The bill is up for discussion in the committee on Wednesday, April 26. It also proposes changes to the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017, which aims to protect Confederate monuments. It states that it protects buildings, streets, and monuments that have been in place for 40 years or more and questions were raised if it could protect the rocket.

One of the changes would require a replacement after removal to maintain the original name or create a marker memorializing the name of a previous memorial. The bill would also change the act to consider a petition for waiver denied after 90 days while the current legislation allows the waiver to pass after this amount of time. The bill additionally revises the penalties from $25,000 per violation to $5,000 per day remaining being in violation and allows the Attorney General to take civil action.

In 2021, Madison County paid that $25,000 fine for the removal of a Confederate soldier statue at the courthouse, according to AP. The statue was moved to the the Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, where Confederate soldiers are buried.