SB0264 • 2026

Official State Bird

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Polsky
Last action: 2026-03-13
Official status: Senate - Died in Environment and Natural Resources
Effective date: Upon becom

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Official State Bird Survey

This bill requires the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to conduct a survey among youth participants in summer camps about choosing an official state bird for Florida.

What This Bill Does

Requires the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to develop and conduct a survey asking young people which bird should be the official state bird of Florida.
The survey must include five specific birds: northern mockingbird, American osprey, Florida scrub jay, American flamingo, and American white ibis.
During summer camps in 2026 and 2027, the commission will give this survey to camp participants.
By December 31, 2027, the commission must send the results of the survey to the leaders of Florida's Senate and House.

Who It Names or Affects

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Youth participants in summer camps run by the Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network

Terms To Know

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: A government agency that manages wildlife and natural resources in Florida.
Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network: A network of summer camps focused on teaching young people about conservation and the environment.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what will happen if a new bird is chosen by survey participants.
It's unclear how many youth will participate in the survey or which specific camps will be involved.

Bill History

2026-03-13 Senate
• Died in Environment and Natural Resources
2026-01-13 Senate
• Introduced
2025-11-03 Senate
• Referred to Environment and Natural Resources; Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government; Fiscal Policy
2025-10-23 Senate
• Filed

Official Summary Text

Official State Bird; Requiring the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to develop and conduct a certain survey; requiring the commission to provide the survey and certain website information to specified persons during a specified timeframe; requiring that the survey include specified bird species, etc.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Florida Senate
-
2026

SB 264

By
Senator Polsky

30-00125-26 2026264__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the official state bird; requiring
3 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to
4 develop and conduct a certain survey; requiring the
5 commission to provide the survey and certain website
6 information to specified persons during a specified
7 timeframe; requiring that the survey include specified
8 bird species; requiring the commission to submit the
9 results of the survey to the Legislature by a
10 specified date; providing an effective date.
11
12 WHEREAS, in 1927, the Florida Legislature designated the
13 northern mockingbird (
Mimus polyglottos
) as the official state
14 bird, and
15 WHEREAS, dating back to the 1998 Regular Session, the
16 Legislature has, on a number of occasions, reviewed and
17 considered legislation to replace the northern mockingbird as
18 the official state bird, and
19 WHEREAS, Florida is one of five states that has designated
20 the northern mockingbird as the official state bird, and
21 WHEREAS, in 2008, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
22 Commission held a vote among 78,000 Florida schoolchildren which
23 coincided with the general election, and the schoolchildren
24 voted to recommend the American osprey (
Pandion haliaetus

25
carolinensis
) as Florida’s new official state bird, and
26 WHEREAS, the time has come to allow the next generation of
27 Floridians to make their voices heard and to have the
28 participants in the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s
29 Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network summer camps hold a
30 vote on the official state bird, with the possibility of a new
31 bird species being presented to the Legislature for
32 consideration as the official state bird, NOW, THEREFORE,
33
34 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
35
36 Section 1.
(1)

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation

37
Commission shall develop and conduct a
survey of this state’s

38
youth to determine whether the state should select another bird

39
species as the official state bird.

40
(2)

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall

41
provide the survey to the participants in the Florida Youth

42
Conservation Centers Network summer camps during the summers of

43
2026 and 2027. The survey must include the northern mockingbird,

44
American osprey, Florida scrub jay, American flamingo, and

45
American white ibis as selections. In addition to
the survey
,

46
the commission shall provide the participants with the

47
information available on the commission’s publicly available

48
website related to such birds.

49
(3)

No later than December 31, 2027, the commission shall

50
submit the results of the survey to the President of the Senate

51
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

52 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.