A Statue of Ronald Reagan for California’s Capitol?

Among the measures lawmakers will be landing on Gov. Jerry Brown’s already well-piled desk is allowing a statue of President – and former California Governor – Ronald Reagan to be placed in the “new” section of the state Capitol.

The statue’s design, placement and upkeep would be paid for by the Ronald Reagan Centennial Capitol Foundation, created last year to help celebrate the actor-turned-politician’s 100^th birthday.

 “A bronze statue of Jimmy Carter greets visitors in Atlanta, Georgia; John F. Kennedy in Boston, Dwight Eisenhower in Topeka and Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois,” said the bill’s author Assemblyman Curt Hagman, a Chino hills Republican in a statement.

The bill passed the Senate August 28 but has received no opposition and will likely be sent by the Assembly to the Democratic governor – who succeeded Reagan 38 years ago.

Creation, placement and care of the statue will not come at taxpayer expense, the bill – AB 2358 — says.

Hagman’s rationale for the statue:

“There have been 44 United States presidents, and precisely one of them has lived in Sacramento and governed the state of California. The 40th president of the United States deserves to be honored with a statue in the Golden State’s Capitol.”

A bronze statue of the former president graces Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. Another statue of Reagan in Newport Beach was vandalized in 2011.

An unsolicited suggestion for a quote to grace the pedestal:

“It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.”

-30-