Illinois House members Thursday voted overwhelmingly to make the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum a separate state agency.

The vote comes nearly a month after Gov. Bruce Rauner went ahead with the move by issuing an executive order.

By passing a bill, however, the change cannot be rescinded by a future governor. The legislation also allows members of a newly constituted oversight board to serve for six years rather than four. The executive order limited Rauner to saying board members would serve four-year terms.

The bill allows the new board to take the necessary steps to transfer the ALPLM to the federal Office of Presidential Libraries under the National Archives. The facility is currently the only presidential library in the nation to be a state operation.

The vote was 111-3. All Springfield-area lawmakers voted in favor of the change.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, has tried for three years to separate the ALPLM from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

“People from across the globe come to Springfield to experience and learn at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum,” Madigan said. “It is one of Illinois’ greatest resources. I’m certain that the library and museum will become a better institution because of this legislation.”

Under the new arrangement, a newly constituted 11-member board appointed by the governor will oversee operations of the ALPLM. It will replace the current structure in which three separate boards have input into its operations.

Current director Alan Lowe will remain. In the future, though, a director will be named by the new board rather than the governor.

Under Rauner’s executive order, all employees of the ALPLM will remain.

Rauner’s executive order also abolished the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and put its operations under the Department of Natural Resources. That includes the state historic sites operated by IHPA.

The administration said the changes will save the state $3.2 million annually.

The old governing arrangement for the library and museum was criticized as unwieldy. Some critics have also complained that the museum's exhibits haven’t been updated since the place opened in 2005, putting a dent in the number of visitors.

The bill must still be approved by the Senate.

-- Contact Doug Finke: doug.finke@sj-r.com, 788-1527, twitter.com/dougfinkesjr.