Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 496
By
Senator McClain
9-00043A-26 2026496__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to protection of historic monuments
3 and memorials; providing a short title; creating s.
4 267.201, F.S.; defining terms; providing legislative
5 intent and findings; preempting all removal, damage
6 to, or destruction of historic Florida monuments and
7 memorials; providing that any existing or future
8 ordinance, regulation, or rule to the contrary, and
9 certain actions by elected or appointed local
10 government officials, are void; prohibiting local
11 governments from enacting or enforcing specified
12 ordinances, regulations, or rules; providing that
13 local governments and elected or appointed local
14 government officials who violate the preemption are
15 liable; requiring the court to declare certain
16 ordinances, regulations, or rules invalid and issue
17 permanent injunctions against the local government;
18 providing that it is no defense that a local
19 government was acting in good faith or upon the advice
20 of counsel; providing civil penalties for certain
21 officials who engage in certain actions; prohibiting
22 the use of public funds to defend or reimburse
23 unlawful conduct of certain persons; authorizing
24 specified persons and organizations to file suit
25 against specified entities for declaratory or
26 injunctive relief and actual damages; requiring the
27 court to award prevailing plaintiffs specified fees
28 and damages; providing for standing to bring civil
29 actions; providing that a local government is liable
30 in certain instances; requiring the state to restore
31 or relocate a monument or memorial in certain
32 circumstances within a specified timeframe; requiring
33 the Department of State to withhold certain funding
34 from a local government until a certain reimbursement
35 is made; prohibiting the local government from
36 retroactively receiving such funding; authorizing a
37 local government to temporarily remove and relocate a
38 monument or memorial in certain instances provided
39 certain requirements are met; authorizing the Division
40 of Historical Resources of the Department of State to
41 request certain recommendations from the Florida
42 Historical Commission and the Department of Veterans’
43 Affairs; requiring the division to make a written
44 record of its decision; prohibiting the division from
45 requiring local governments to expend funds unrelated
46 to specified circumstances; authorizing the department
47 to adopt rules; providing an effective date.
48
49 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
50
51 Section 1.
This act may be cited as the “Historic Florida
52
Monuments and Memorials Protection Act.”
53 Section 2. Section 267.201, Florida Statutes, is created to
54 read:
55
267.201
Protection of historic monuments and memorials.—
56
(1)
As used in this section, the term:
57
(a)
“Department” means the Department of State.
58
(b)
“Historic Florida military monument or memorial” means
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a historic Florida monument or memorial that honors or recounts
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the military service of any past or present military personnel,
61
including service in any armed conflict since settlers from
62
other countries came to what is now the United States.
63
(c)
“Historic Florida monument or memorial” means a
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permanent statue, marker, plaque, flag, banner, cenotaph,
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religious symbol, painting, seal, tombstone, or display
66
constructed and located on public property which has been
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displayed for at least 25 years, with the intent of being
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permanently displayed or perpetually maintained, and which is
69
dedicated to any person, place, or event that was important in
70
the past or which is in remembrance or recognition of a
71
significant person or event in state history.
72
(d)
“Local government” means any municipality, county,
73
school district, state college, state university, or other
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political subdivision of the state.
75
(2)(a)
It is the intent of the Legislature to declare void
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all ordinances, regulations, and executive actions regarding the
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removal, damage, or destruction of historic Florida monuments or
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memorials which have been enacted by any local government.
79
(b)
It is also the intent of the Legislature that the state
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act to protect each historic Florida monument or memorial from
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removal, damage, or destruction. The Legislature finds that an
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accurate and factual history belongs to all Floridians and
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future generations and that the state has an obligation to
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protect and preserve such history.
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(c)
Further, it is the intent of the Legislature to provide
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statewide uniformity through the division. It is also the
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Legislature’s intent for the division to work actively to
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protect and preserve
each historic Florida monument or memorial
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and ensure that each such monument or memorial is not removed,
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damaged, or destroyed, regardless of the location of such
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monument or memorial in this state, and to consult with the
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Department of Veterans’ Affairs on actions regarding all
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historic Florida military monuments or memorials.
94
(3)(a)
Any removal of, damage to, or destruction of
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historic Florida monuments or memorials is preempted to the
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state. Any existing or future local government ordinance,
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regulation, or rule to the contrary, or any such action
by an
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elected or appointed local government official, other than those
99
authorized in subsection (6), is void.
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(b)
A local government may not enact or enforce any local
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ordinance, regulation, or rule removing or destroying a historic
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Florida monument or memorial.
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(4)(a)
A local government or an elected or appointed local
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government official who violates subsection (3) by enacting or
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enforcing a local ordinance, regulation, or rule impinging upon
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such preemption is liable as provided in this subsection.
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(b)
If a local government violates subsection (3), the
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court must declare the ordinance, regulation, or rule invalid
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and issue a permanent injunction against the local government,
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prohibiting the enforcement of such ordinance, regulation, or
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rule. It is not a defense that, in enacting or enforcing the
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ordinance, regulation, or rule, the local government was acting
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in good faith or upon the advice of counsel.
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(c)
The court shall assess a civil fine of up to $1,000
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against an elected or appointed local government official who
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knowingly and willfully violates subsection (3).
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(d)
Except as required by applicable law, public funds may
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not be used to defend or reimburse the unlawful conduct of an
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elected or appointed local government official found to have
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knowingly and willfully violated subsection (3).
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(e)1.
A person or an organization described in subparagraph
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2. may file suit against a local government or an elected or
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appointed local government official in any court of this state
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having jurisdiction over the defendant to the suit for
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declaratory or injunctive relief and for actual damages, as
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limited herein, caused by a violation. A court shall award a
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prevailing plaintiff in any such suit:
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a.
Reasonable attorney fees and costs in accordance with
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the laws of this state; and
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b.
The actual damages incurred, up to $100,000.
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2.
The following have standing to bring a civil action for
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a violation of subsection (3):
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a.
A group involved in the design, erection, or maintenance
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of the monument or memorial or a member of such group; or
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b.
A group or person regularly using the monument or
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memorial for remembrance.
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(5)
If a historic Florida monument or memorial is removed,
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damaged, or destroyed by a local government in violation of
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subsection (3), the local government is liable for restoring or
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relocating such monument or memorial to its original condition
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or location or as close as possible to the original condition or
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location within 3 years after the date of the removal, damage,
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or destruction. If the local government does not have the
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necessary funds for the restoration or relocation, the state
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must restore or relocate such monument or memorial, and the
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department must withhold from the local government all arts,
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cultural, and historic preservation funding until the local
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government reimburses the state for the cost of restoring or
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relocating such monument or memorial. All such funds become
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available to the local government once the state is repaid. The
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local government may not retroactively collect any of the
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department funds that otherwise would have been received during
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the period that state funds were withheld.
154
(6)(a)
A local government may temporarily remove and
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relocate a historic Florida monument or memorial only due to
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military necessity or for any construction or infrastructure
157
project.
158
(b)
The local government proposing to remove and relocate a
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Florida historic monument or memorial shall put into an escrow
160
account a good faith estimate of the funds necessary to
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temporarily relocate such monument or memorial.
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(c)
A historic Florida monument or memorial that is
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temporarily removed must be moved to a site of similar
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prominence, honor, visibility, and access within the same county
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or municipality in which the monument or memorial was originally
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located.
167
(d)1.
A local government shall provide written notification
168
to the division, on a form prescribed by the department in
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consultation with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs:
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a.
Of the temporary removal and relocation of a historic
171
Florida monument or memorial. The written notification must be
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provided within 10 days after the date of the local government’s
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decision to temporarily remove such monument or memorial.
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b.
That the military necessity has ceased or that the
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construction or infrastructure project is completed. The written
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notification must be provided within a reasonable timeframe, but
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not more than 30 days after the military necessity has ceased or
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the construction or infrastructure project has been completed.
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2.
The historic Florida monument or memorial must be moved
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back to the original location or, if that is not possible, to a
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site with similar prominence, honor, visibility, and access
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within the same county or municipality, as determined by the
183
division. The division may request recommendations for such
184
locations from the Florida Historical Commission or, for a
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historic Florida military monument or memorial, from the
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Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
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(7)
The division shall make a written record of its
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decision to act or defer action on any issue regarding the
189
protection, preservation, or relocation of a historic Florida
190
monument or memorial. The division may not require a local
191
government to expend funds on a historic Florida monument or
192
memorial in instances unrelated to subsection (5) or subsection
193
(6).
194
(8)
The department, in consultation with the Department of
195
Veterans’ Affairs, may adopt rules to implement this section.
196 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.