Florida Senate - 2023                             CS for SB 1096
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Senator Martin
       
       
       
       
       585-02613-23                                          20231096c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to monuments and memorials; providing
    3         a short title; amending s. 265.283, F.S.; defining the
    4         terms “memorial” and “monument”; conforming a
    5         provision to changes made by the act; creating s.
    6         265.710, F.S.; providing that a person or an entity
    7         that damages, defaces, destroys, or removes a monument
    8         or memorial is liable for treble the costs to return,
    9         repair, or replace the monument or memorial; providing
   10         an exception; declaring that specified persons or
   11         entities have standing to bring a civil action against
   12         a person or entity that damages, defaces, destroys,
   13         removes, or performs other specified actions toward a
   14         monument or memorial; providing applicability;
   15         prohibiting the placement of specified objects on or
   16         near a memorial that existed before a specified date;
   17         providing an effective date.
   18          
   19  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   20  
   21         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Historical
   22  Monuments and Memorials Protection Act.”
   23         Section 2. Section 265.283, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   24  read:
   25         265.283 Definitions.—The following definitions shall apply
   26  to ss. 265.281-265.710 ss. 265.281-265.703:
   27         (1) “Arts and cultural disciplines” include, but are not
   28  limited to, music, dance, theatre, creative writing, literature,
   29  architecture, painting, sculpture, folk arts, photography,
   30  crafts, media arts, visual arts, programs of museums, and other
   31  such allied, major art forms.
   32         (2) “Arts in education grants” means grants used to
   33  cultivate the learning and artistic development of all students
   34  and teachers by promoting, encouraging, and supporting arts and
   35  culture as an integral part of education and lifelong learning
   36  for residents and visitors.
   37         (3) “Council” means the Florida Council on Arts and
   38  Culture.
   39         (4) “Cultural support grants” means grants that provide
   40  support for general programs and specific cultural projects.
   41         (5) “Culture Builds Florida grants” means grants used for
   42  the purpose of connecting the arts to key areas of the
   43  division’s long-term strategic plan.
   44         (6) “Department” means the Department of State.
   45         (7) “Director” means the Director of the Division of Arts
   46  and Culture of the Department of State.
   47         (8) “Division” means the Division of Arts and Culture of
   48  the Department of State.
   49         (9) “Folklife” means the traditional expressive culture
   50  shared within the various groups in Florida: familial, ethnic,
   51  occupational, religious, and regional. Expressive culture
   52  includes a wide range of creative and symbolic forms such as
   53  custom, belief, technical skill, language, literature, art,
   54  architecture, music, play, dance, drama, ritual, pageantry, and
   55  handicraft, which forms are generally learned orally, by
   56  imitation, or in performance and are maintained or perpetuated
   57  without formal instruction or institutional direction.
   58         (10) “Historical museum” means a department or agency of
   59  state or local government or a public or private nonprofit
   60  organization located in Florida and operating on a permanent
   61  basis for the primary purpose of sponsoring, producing, and
   62  exhibiting educational programs that are related to the
   63  historical resources of Florida.
   64         (11) “Local arts agency” means a public or private
   65  nonprofit organization located in Florida and operating on a
   66  permanent basis for the primary purpose of strengthening,
   67  supporting, and stabilizing the activities of one or more county
   68  art and cultural constituencies.
   69         (12) “Memorial” means a plaque, statue, marker, flag,
   70  banner, cenotaph, religious symbol, painting, seal, tombstone,
   71  structure name, or display that is constructed, placed, or
   72  located with the intent of being permanently displayed or
   73  perpetually maintained, that is dedicated to a historical
   74  person, entity, event, or series of events, and that honors or
   75  recounts the military service of any past or present military
   76  personnel or the past or present public service of a resident of
   77  the geographical area comprising this state or the United States
   78  of America.
   79         (13) “Monument” means a permanent structure, such as a
   80  marker, statue, sculpture, plaque, or other artifice, including
   81  living plant material, placed in remembrance or recognition of a
   82  significant person or event in Florida history.
   83         (14) “Panel” means a grant review panel.
   84         (15)(13) “Science museum” means a public or private
   85  nonprofit organization located in Florida and operating on a
   86  permanent basis for the primary purpose of sponsoring,
   87  producing, and exhibiting programs for the observation and study
   88  of various types of natural science and science technology.
   89         (16)(14) “Secretary” means the Secretary of State.
   90         (17)(15) “State service organization” means a public or
   91  private nonprofit organization located in Florida operating on a
   92  permanent basis for the primary purpose of implementing programs
   93  that have cultural significance and that emphasize American
   94  creativity and the maintenance and encouragement of professional
   95  excellence.
   96         (18)(16) “State touring program grants” means grants used
   97  to provide performances, activities, and exhibitions by Florida
   98  artists to communities.
   99         (19)(17) “Underserved arts community assistance program
  100  grants” means grants used by qualified organizations under the
  101  Rural Economic Development Initiative, pursuant to ss. 288.0656
  102  and 288.06561, for the purpose of economic and organizational
  103  development for underserved cultural organizations.
  104         (20)(18) “Youth and children’s museum” means a public or
  105  private nonprofit organization located in Florida and operating
  106  on a permanent basis for the primary purpose of sponsoring,
  107  producing, and exhibiting multidisciplinary and participatory
  108  programs for visitors who are 6 months to 15 years old, and
  109  their families, teachers, and caregivers.
  110         Section 3. Section 265.710, Florida Statutes, is created to
  111  read:
  112         265.710 Civil liability.—
  113         (1)Any person or entity that damages, defaces, destroys,
  114  or removes a monument or memorial displayed on publicly owned
  115  property is liable for treble the amount of the full cost to
  116  return, repair, or replace the monument or memorial and may be
  117  subject to punitive damages unless the person or entity was
  118  authorized to alter, move, repair, or replace the monument or
  119  memorial by the public entity that owns it.
  120         (2)A public entity that owns a monument or memorial, any
  121  legal resident of this state, or any entity whose purpose is
  122  historic preservation has standing to bring a civil action for
  123  damages in the circuit court in the county in which a monument
  124  or memorial has been damaged, defaced, destroyed, or removed or
  125  for any act prohibited by s. 806.135.
  126         (3)This section does not prevent an agency from relocating
  127  a monument or memorial when relocation is necessary for the
  128  construction, expansion, or alteration of publicly owned
  129  buildings, roads, streets, highways, or other transportation
  130  projects. Any monument or memorial relocated for such purpose
  131  must be relocated to a site of similar prominence, honor,
  132  visibility, and access within the same county or municipality in
  133  which the monument or memorial was originally placed or located.
  134         (4)A plaque, sign, picture, notice, or any other object
  135  used to convey information may not be placed on or near a
  136  monument or memorial in existence on or before January 1, 2022,
  137  without the express written approval of the secretary.
  138         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.