A proposal for North Carolina to eventually place a statue of the Rev. Billy Graham inside the U.S. Capitol has been approved by state lawmakers and now heads to the governor.
North Carolina's Senate voted unanimously Thursday to pass the measure asking a congressional committee to approve Graham's likeness as a state contribution to the Capitol. The bill, approved by the state's House counterparts in April, now goes to Gov. Pat McCrory.
The 96-year-old evangelist grew up in Charlotte and lives in Montreat, North Carolina.
The plan calls for a statue of Graham to replace that of a former North Carolina governor, Charles Aycock, whose ties to the white supremacy movement have recently tarnished his legacy. Congressional guidelines state that a person's statue can only be installed posthumously.