The mayor of Birmingham criticized a state law that forbids the majority-black city from removing, or obscuring, a Confederate monument in a city park.
Birmingham faces a $25,000 fine for erecting a wooden box obscuring the inscriptions on a 52-foot-tall obelisk honoring Confederate veterans.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin called the statue a slap in the face to black residents.
Senators on Tuesday delayed a vote on a bill that would raise penalties to $10,000-a-day.