The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic
Development
BILL: CS/SB 716
INTRODUCER: Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee and Senators Rodriguez and
Stewart
SUBJECT: Florida Women’s Historical Marker Initiative
DATE: February 7, 2024
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Limones-Borja McVaney GO Fav/CS
2. Wells Jerrett ATD Pre-meeting
3. FP
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 716 establishes the Florida Women’s Historical Marker Initiative (Initiative) within the
Division of Historical Resources (Division). The purpose of the Initiative is to recognize the
contributions of 100 women with the placement of historical markers by the Florida Historical
Markers Program (Program). The Program shall place 10 markers each year.
The bill establishes the Women’s Historical Marker Selection Committee (Committee) to
provide recommendations to the Secretary of State (Secretary) regarding the women who will be
recognized by the Initiative. The Committee must recommend at least 25 women per fiscal year.
The Committee will consist of 11 members appointed by the Secretary of State. The members of
the Committee shall be appointed to 2-year terms. The Committee is required to conduct its own
research on the women to recognize and solicit input from the general public. The Committee
will expire no later than June 30, 2028, or 30 days after the Secretary has selected the 100
women to be recognized.
The bill sets the following criteria for women to be recognized for the markers:
Must have been born in, resided in, or been employed in this state;
Must have significantly contributed to the state of Florida, her county, or her specific
community; and
The contribution or achievement for which a woman is being recognized must have occurred
more than 30 years before such recognition.
REVISED: BILL: CS/SB 716 Page 2
There must be at least one woman recognized from each of the state’s counties.
The bill may an indeterminate, negative fiscal impact on the Department of State. The bill is not
expected to impact local government revenues and expenditures. See Section V., Fiscal Impact
Statement.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
II. Present Situation:
Department of State
The Department of State (DOS), created in s. 20.10, F.S., is composed of six divisions:
Elections, Historical Resources, Corporations, Library and Information Services, Arts and
Culture, and Administration. The head of the DOS is the Secretary of State (Secretary). The
Secretary is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Governor, and is confirmed by the
Senate. The Secretary performs functions conferred by the State Constitution upon the custodian
of state records.
1
The Secretary also serves as the state protocol officer and, in consultation with
the Governor and other governmental officials, develops, maintains, publishes, and distributes
the state protocol manual.
2
Florida Division of Historical Resources
The DOS’s Division of Historical Resources (Division) is responsible for preserving and
promoting Florida’s historical, archaeological, and folk culture resources. The Division
Director’s Office oversees a Historic Preservation Grants program to help preserve and maintain
Florida’s historic buildings and archaeological sites and coordinates outreach programs. The
Division Director also serves as the State Historic Preservation Officer, acting as the liaison with
the national historic preservation program conducted by the National Park Service.
3
The Division is comprised of the following Bureaus:
Bureau of Historic Preservation;
Bureau of Historical Museums; and
Bureau of Archeological Research.
4
Florida Historical Marker Program
The Florida Historical Marker Program is designed to raise public awareness of Florida’s rich
cultural history and to enhance the enjoyment of our historic sites by citizens and tourists. These
markers tell stories of the places and people who created Florida, by identifying the churches,
1
Section 20.10(1), F.S.
2
Section 15.01(1), F.S.
3
Florida Department of State, Florida Division of Historical Resources, About, https://dos.myflorida.com/historical/about/
(last visited Jan. 14, 2024).
4
Id. BILL: CS/SB 716 Page 3
schools, archaeological sites, battlefields, and homes that represent Florida’s past.
5
The official
Florida historic markers are markers awarded, approved, or administered by the Division.
6
The
Division makes the following distinctions:
A “Florida Heritage Landmark” is a marker that recognizes resources for a region of the state
or statewide that are usually more than fifty years old and are of exceptional significance in
the areas of architecture, archaeology and history where the properties largely and visibly
retain the distinctive physical characteristics that were present during the historical period for
which the property is being recognized.
7
A “Florida Heritage” marker is a marker that identifies people, events and places, including
buildings, structures, objects and archaeological sites that do not meet the criteria for Florida
Heritage Landmark designation but are still of local, regional, or statewide historic
significance relating to Florida history, culture, and ethnic heritage.
8
A “Special Marker” is a marker which the Division will establish to guide the public to
places of historic or cultural interest and to facilitate the identification and interpretation of
various topics, including at a minimum, historic and scenic trails, byways, greenways, and
anniversaries or other occasions of special significance to the history and culture of Florida.
9
The Division is responsible for the administration of all aspects of the Florida Historic Marker
Program, including the application process, selection and designation of properties, persons or
events to be marked, and the placement and maintenance of the markers.
10
There are
approximately 1,200 markers throughout the state currently.
11
While the current list of Florida
Historical Markers has all the approved and created markers, some have yet to be installed or
have been removed without notice to the Bureau of Historic Preservation.
12
Executive Branch Entities
Chapter 20, F.S., authorizes the creation of different entities within the executive branch to assist
agencies in performing their duties more efficiently and effectively. These entities include
commissions, committees or task forces, coordinating councils, and advisory councils. These
entities are statutorily defined:
“Commission,” unless otherwise required by the State Constitution, means a body created by
specific statutory enactment within a department, the office of the Governor, or the Executive
Office of the Governor and exercising limited quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial powers, or
both, independently of the head of the department or the Governor.
13
“Committee” or “task force” means an advisory body created without specific statutory
enactment for a time not to exceed 1 year or created by specific statutory enactment for a
5
Florida Department of State, Florida Division of Historical Resources, Historical Markers,
https://dos.fl.gov/historical/preservation/historical-markers/ (last visited Jan. 16, 2024).
6
Rule 1A-48.002(3), F.A.C.
7
Rule 1A-48.002(3)(a), F.A.C.
8
Rule 1A-48.002(3)(b), F.A.C.
9
Rule 1A-48.002(3)(d), F.A.C.
10
Rule 1A-48.003(1), F.A.C.
11
Florida Department of State, Florida Historical Marker List, https://apps.flheritage.com/markers/ (Jan. 16, 2023).
12
Email from Jeremy Heiker, Florida Historical Marker Coordinator, Department of State, to Gabriela Limones-Borja,
Legislative Analyst, Senate Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability (Jan. 16, 2024, 4:15 EST) (on file
with the Senate Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability).
13
Section 20.03(4), F.S. BILL: CS/SB 716 Page 4
time not to exceed 3 years and appointed to study a specific problem and recommend a
solution or policy alternative with respect to that problem. Its existence terminates upon the
completion of its assignment.
14
“Coordinating Council” means an interdepartmental advisory body created by law to
coordinate programs and activities for which one department has primary responsibility but
in which one or more other departments have an interest.
15
“Council” or “advisory council” means an advisory body created by specific statutory
enactment and appointed to function on a continuing basis for the study of the problems
arising in a specified functional or program area of state government and to provide
recommendations and policy alternatives.
16
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Section 1 provides that this act may be cited as the “Florida Women’s Historical Marker
Initiative.”
Section 2 creates s. 267.0744, F.S., to establish the Florida Women’s Historical Marker Initiative
(Initiative) within the Division of Historical Resources (Division). The purpose of this Initiative
is to recognize the contributions of 100 women, living or deceased, to the history of this state by
placing new historical markers. The Florida Historical Marker Program is required to place a
total of 100 markers, with 10 placed each year. The first 10 markers must be placed by
December 31, 2025 and the final marker placed by December 31, 2034.
The bill also creates the Women’s Historical Marker Selection Committee (Committee), an
advisory committee as defined in s. 20.03(5), F.S. The goal of the Committee is to provide
guidance to the Secretary of State (Secretary) regarding the women who should be recognized by
the Committee. The Committee is required to recommend at least 25 women for recognition each
fiscal year. The Secretary is required to select 100 women from the recommendations of the
Committee.
The Committee shall be composed of 11 members, all of which will be appointed by the
Secretary. The membership of the committee must consist the following:
Two noted Florida historians;
One member from the Florida Commission of the Status of Women;
One member of the Division of Historical Resources;
One member of the State Historical Marker Council; and
Six members from the general public.
The members will be appointed to 2-year terms and shall operate in a manner consistent with s.
20.052, F.S. The bill requires the Committee to conduct its own research on the women to be
recognized, and solicit input from the general public. The Committee shall expire no later than
June 30, 2028 or 30 days after the Secretary has selected the 100 women to be recognized.
14
Section 20.03(5), F.S.
15
Section 20.03(6), F.S.
16
Section 20.03(7), F.S. BILL: CS/SB 716 Page 5
The bill sets the following criteria for women to be recognized for the markers:
Must have been born in, resided in, or been employed in this state;
Must have significantly contributed to the state of Florida, her county, or her specific
community; and
The contribution or achievement for which a woman is being recognized must have occurred
more than 30 years before such recognition.
The bill requires that there be at least one woman from each of the state’s counties recognized.
Section 3 provides that the bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
Not applicable. The mandate restrictions do not apply because the bill does not require
counties and municipalities to spend funds, reduce counties’ or municipalities’ ability to
raise revenue, or reduce the percentage of state tax shared with counties and
municipalities.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None. BILL: CS/SB 716 Page 6
C. Government Sector Impact:
Section 2 establishes the Florida Women’s Historical Marker Initiative within the
Division of Historical Resources. The Division may incur additional workload and costs
associated with the placing of 100 new historical markers.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill creates section 267.0744 of the Florida Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Substantial Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
CS by Governmental Oversight and Accountability on January 22, 2024:
Creates a new section within the Florida Historical Resources Act;
Specifies that the committee is advisory in nature and that the Secretary of State will
make the final decision on the women who will be recognized by the initiative;
Requires the committee to recommend at least 25 women per fiscal year;
Specifies that the Secretary of State will make the appointments to the committee;
Specifies that the members will be appointed to 2-year terms; and
Provides that the committee shall expire no later than June 30, 2028, or 30 days after
the Secretary of State has the 100 selections.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.