Florida Senate - 2019                              CS for SB 718
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs and Space; and
       Senator Gruters
       
       
       
       
       583-03835-19                                           2019718c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Honor and Remember flag;
    3         creating s. 256.16, F.S.; designating the Honor and
    4         Remember flag as an emblem of the state; authorizing
    5         the display of the flag at specified locations, on
    6         specified days, and in a specified manner; requiring
    7         the flags to be manufactured in the United States;
    8         authorizing local governments to display the flag at
    9         certain locations; authorizing certain departments,
   10         agencies, and local governments to adopt certain
   11         regulations by a specified date; providing an
   12         effective date.
   13          
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Section 256.16, Florida Statutes, is created to
   17  read:
   18         256.16 Honor and Remember flag.—
   19         (1) The Honor and Remember flag is designated as the
   20  state’s emblem of the service and sacrifice of the brave men and
   21  women of the United States Armed Forces who have given their
   22  lives in the line of duty.
   23         (2) The flag may be displayed:
   24         (a) At the following locations:
   25         1. Any state-owned building at which the United States flag
   26  is displayed.
   27         2. Any state-owned military memorials.
   28         3. Any other state-owned location.
   29         (b) On the following days:
   30         1. Veterans’ Day, November 11.
   31         2. Gold Star Mother’s Day, the last Sunday in September.
   32         3. A day on which a member of the United States Armed
   33  Forces who is a resident of this state loses his or her life in
   34  the line of duty.
   35         (c) In a manner designed to ensure visibility to the
   36  public.
   37         (d) With no more than two additional flags when displayed
   38  together on a flagpole.
   39         (3) A flag displayed pursuant to this section must be
   40  manufactured in the United States.
   41         (4) A local government may display the flag in accordance
   42  with paragraphs (2)(b), (c), and (d) at any local government
   43  building at which the United States flag is displayed and at any
   44  other local government location it deems appropriate.
   45         (5) By July 1, 2020, a department or an agency responsible
   46  for a location specified in paragraph (2)(a), or a local
   47  government pursuant to subsection (4), may adopt regulations as
   48  necessary to carry out this section. Such regulations may not
   49  require an employee to report to work solely to display the
   50  flag.
   51         Section 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020.