Florida 2023 2023 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H5201 Analysis / Analysis

Filed 06/20/2023

                     
This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives. 
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DATE: 6/20/2023 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF FINAL BILL ANALYSIS  
 
BILL #: HB 5201          PCB SAT 23-01    Capitol Complex 
SPONSOR(S): State Administration & Technology Appropriations Subcommittee, Busatta Cabrera 
TIED BILLS:   IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 2506 
 
 
 
 
FINAL HOUSE FLOOR ACTION: 97 Y’s 
 
13 N’s  GOVERNOR’S ACTION: Approved 
 
 
SUMMARY ANALYSIS 
HB 5201 passed the House on May 5, 2023, as SB 2506, as amended by the conference committee. 
 
The bill conforms law to the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 General Appropriation Act (GAA). The GAA contains 
funding for the creation of the Memorial Park within the expanded Capitol Complex. See Fiscal Analysis & 
Economic Impact Statement. 
 
Chapter 272, F.S., provides that the Capitol Center is under the general control and supervision of the 
Department of Management Services (DMS), which includes the management and maintenance of both the 
grounds and buildings. DMS is authorized to allocate space in the specified buildings to house various 
departments, agencies, boards, and commissions except the Supreme Court Building. The Capital Complex is 
an area located within the area of the Capitol Center. Section 281.01, F.S., defines the Capitol Complex as the 
Capitol Building, the Historic Capitol, Senate Office Building, House Office Building, Knott Building, Pepper 
Building, and the Holland Building. The management, maintenance, and upkeep of the Capital Complex is also 
the obligation of DMS.  
 
Under current law, a monument is defined as “a marker, statue, sculpture, plaque, or other artifice, including 
living plant material, placed in remembrance or recognition of a significant person or event in Florida history.” 
DMS, in consultation with the Florida Historical Commission, is required to set aside an area of the Capitol 
Complex to dedicate a memorial garden on which authorized monuments must be placed. The construction 
and placement of a monument on the premises of the Capitol Complex is prohibited unless authorized by the 
Legislature in general law.  
 
The bill expands the Capitol Complex to include the Holland Building, the Elliot Building, the R.A. Gray 
Building, and their associated parking garages. To effectuate this change, the bill expands the area of the 
Capitol Complex to include the state-owned lands and adjacent public streets within an area bounded by and 
including Calhoun Street, East Pensacola Street, Monroe Street, Jefferson Street, West Pensacola Street, 
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and Gaines Street. The bill states that the Capitol Complex does not include 
the Supreme Court Building or the public streets adjacent thereto. 
 
The bill removes the requirement that DMS, in consultation with the Florida Historical Commission, dedicate a 
memorial garden. Instead, the bill requires DMS to set aside and dedicate an area of the Capitol Complex to 
be known as “Memorial Park”, where authorized monuments will be placed. The bill defines “Memorial Park” as 
the portion of the Capitol Complex existing between and including the Elliot Building and the Holland Building 
within an area bounded by and including Monroe Street, Gaines Street, Calhoun Street, and East Pensacola 
Street. 
 
The bill was approved by the Governor on June 15, 2023, ch. 2023-242, L.O.F., and will become effective on 
July 1, 2023. 
 
    
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I. SUBSTANTIVE INFORMATION 
 
A. EFFECT OF CHANGES:  
 
Background 
 
Capitol Center and Capitol Complex 
 
Chapter 272, F.S., provides that the Capitol Center
1
 is under the general control and supervision of the 
Department of Management Services (DMS),
2
 which includes the management and maintenance of 
both the grounds and buildings.
3
 DMS is authorized to allocate space in the specified buildings to 
house various departments, agencies, boards, and commissions except the Supreme Court Building.
4
 
Additionally, DMS has the authority to provide for the establishment of parks, walkways, and parkways 
on the grounds of the Capitol Center.
5
 This responsibility has historically included assistance in 
establishing and maintaining public memorials throughout the Capitol Center, including project 
management, and oversight of the design and construction of memorials.
6
  
 
The term “Capitol Complex” is defined to include:  
 
that portion of Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida, commonly referred to as the Capitol, 
the Historic Capitol, the Senate Office Building, the House Office Building, the Knott 
Building, the Pepper Building, the Holland Building, and the curtilage of each, including 
the state-owned lands and public streets adjacent thereto within an area bounded by 
and including Monroe Street, Jefferson Street, Duval Street, and Gaines Street. The 
term shall also include the State Capital Circle Office Complex located in Leon County, 
Florida.
7
 
 
DMS is responsible for the management, maintenance, and upkeep of the Capital Complex and has 
authority to employ a superintendent of the grounds and other employees, and to designate or appoint 
a nonsalaried advisory committee to advise them.
8
 
 
Capitol Complex Monuments  
 
A monument is defined as “a marker, statue, sculpture, plaque, or other artifice, including living plant 
material, placed in remembrance or recognition of a significant person or event in Florida history.”
9
 
DMS is required to set aside an area of the Capitol Complex to dedicate a memorial garden on which 
authorized monuments must be placed.
10
 The construction and placement of a monument on the 
premises of the Capitol Complex is prohibited unless authorized by general law. Additionally, the 
construction and placement of a monument on the premises of the Capitol Complex must be approved, 
after considering the recommendations of DMS and the Florida Historical Commission
11
, by the:  
 The Governor, or his or her designee. 
                                                
1
 Section 272.12, F.S., defines the Capitol Center as the area bound by South Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, East and West 
College Avenue, Franklin Boulevard, East Jefferson Street, and the Seaboard Coastline Railway right-of-way as the Capitol Center. 
2 
S. 272.03, F.S 
3 
S. 272.09, F.S. 
4 
S. 727.04, F.S. 
5 
S. 272.07, F.S 
6
 Department of Management Services, Agency Analysis of 2014 Senate Bill 608, p. 2 (Feb. 19, 2014). 
7
 S. 281.01, F.S. The Caldwell Building lies within the bounded area described in current law, but is not specifically named in statutes 
and therefore not considered as part of the Capitol Complex. 
8
 S. 272.09, F.S. 
9
 S. 265.111(1), F.S. 
10
 S. 265.111(3), F.S. 
11
 Section 267.0612(9), F.S. requires the Florida Historical Commission to provide on the design and placement of monuments to be 
placed on the premises of the Capitol Complex.     
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 The Attorney General, or his or her designee. 
 The Chief Financial Officer, or his or her designee. 
 The Commissioner of Agriculture, or his or her designee. 
 The President of the Senate, or his or her designee. 
 The Speaker of the House of Representatives, or his or her designee.
12
  
 
To date, there have been 13 memorials authorized in Florida Statute. Of the 13, eight have been 
completed, two have been funded and are in the design stage, and three have not been funded or 
completed. The following chart shows each statutorily authorized memorial.
13
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Effect of Proposed Changes 
 
The bill amends ss. 272.09, 281.01, and 943.60 F.S., to add the Holland Building, the Elliot Building, 
the R.A. Gray Building, and their associated parking garages to the Capitol Complex. To effectuate this 
change, the bill expands the area of the Capitol Complex to include the state-owned lands within an 
area bounded by and including Calhoun Street, East Pensacola Street, Monroe Street, Jefferson 
Street, West Pensacola Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and Gaines Street. The bill states that 
the Capitol Complex does not include the Supreme Court Building or the public streets adjacent 
thereto. 
 
The bill removes the requirement that DMS, in consultation with the Florida Historical Commission, 
dedicate a memorial garden. Instead, the bill requires DMS to set aside and dedicate an area of the 
Capitol Complex to be known as “Memorial Park”, where authorized monuments will be placed. The bill 
defines “Memorial Park” as the portion of the Capitol Complex existing between and including the Elliot 
                                                
12
 S. 265.111(2), F.S. 
13
 Email from Patrick Gillespie, Deputy Secretary of Business Operations, Department of Management Services, RE: Monuments 
(Mar. 6, 2023). 
Memorial 
Current Status 
of Statutory 
Authority (F.S.) 
Funded 
Y/N 
Year 
Authorized Status 
Florida Women’s Hall of Fame 265.001 Y 1992 Completed 
Florida Medal of Honor Wall 265.002 Y 1996 Completed 
Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame 265.003 Y 2011 Completed 
POW-MIA Chair of Honor Memorial 265.00301 Y 2014 Completed-2022 
Florida Veterans’ Walk of Honor 
and Florida Veterans’ Memorial 
Garden 	265.0031 N 2014 TBD 
Florida Tourism Hall of Fame 265.004 Y 2014 Completed 
Florida Law Enforcement Officers’ 
Hall of Fame 	265.0041 Y 2014 Completed 
Florida Holocaust Memorial 265.005 Y 2016 In Design 
Florida Slavery Memorial 265.006 Y 2018 In Design 
Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys 
Memorial (Dozier School, 
Marianna) 	265.007 Y 2017 Completed-2023 
Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys 
Memorial (Florida Capitol) 265.007 Y 2017 Designed 
POW-MIA Vietnam Veterans 
Bracelet Memorial 	265.008 Y 2021 Completed-2021 
Beirut Monument 	265.111 N 2014 TBD   
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Building and the Holland Building within an area bounded by and including Monroe Street, Gaines 
Street, Calhoun Street, and East Pensacola Street. 
 
II.  FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT 
 
  
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT: 
 
1. Revenues: 
 
None. 
 
2. Expenditures: 
 
The Fiscal Year 2023-2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) provides $2.0 million from the 
Architects Incidental Trust Fund to DMS for the design and development of the Memorial Park. The 
proviso states that the funds are contingent upon this bill or similar legislation becoming law. 
Further, the funds shall be placed in reserve. DMS is authorized to submit budget amendments to 
request release of funds. Release is contingent upon the submission of a plan to the Governor, the 
President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives that specifies the 
design, layout, placement of monuments, and other enhancements within Memorial Park. 
 
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: 
 
1. Revenues: 
 
None. 
 
2. Expenditures: 
 
None. 
 
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR: 
 
None. 
 
D. FISCAL COMMENTS: 
 
None.