House Democrats on Friday urged Gov. Kay Ivey not to sign a bill that would make it harder to remove Confederate monuments should it come across her desk.

The House voted 72-29 on Thursday to approve the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act, which says that any monuments or historically significant structures can't be removed without approval from a commission.

"Gov. Ivey should send a clear message to our citizens and the nation that we are no longer a state stuck in the worn out fights of the past. We are looking forward and moving our state towards success and opportunity," House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, said in a statement. "There is no place for any kind of backward-facing legislation in a state that is serious about building prosperous future. This bill fails to move us one step closer to solving the real problems that concern citizens, and it actually sets back our efforts to attract the best and brightest workers and jobs to our state."

A heated debate erupted in the House on Thursday shortly before the vote, with black Democrats saying that the legislation was offensive.

"You all in Alabama are trying to live in the past. Man, the Civil War is over with. The South lost the Civil War. I don't care how bad you wanted to win," said Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, on the House floor. "This house is getting a little more racist than I thought it would be."

Daniels reiterated an argument on Friday that had been made by his colleagues during the debate - that the legislature should be debating bills on policy, with only eight days left in the session.

"If we are serious about advancing together as a state, we have to finally admit that the truth is not about who won or lost a war but about what we can do together to assure that everyone has a share of opportunity. I don't see that value reflected in this bill, and from yesterday's debate, it is clear that no one in that room could show it to me," Daniels said. "So, I urge the governor to let local governments decide what belongs in the past, and let us focus on moving forward for the sake of all Alabamians."

Ivey's office did not immediately respond to a call from AL.com asking her position on the bill.

Although the bill passed the Alabama Senate last month, the legislation will move again to the upper chamber because the House amended it.