A Florida Republican has re-filed a measure aimed at penalizing local governments that attempt to remove or destroy Confederate monuments and other historic memorials.
HB 496, introduced by Sen. Stan McClain, an Ocala Republican, demands that the state protect “each historic Florida monument or memorial from removal, damage, or destruction.” This marks the fourth consecutive legislative session in which the bill has been introduced, reflecting a broader conservative response to the nationwide movement to take down or rename Confederate statues.
“The Legislature finds that an accurate and factual history belongs to all Floridians and future generations and that the state has an obligation to protect and preserve such history,” the bill states.
Under the proposed legislation, local government officials who try to remove these monuments could face fines of up to $1,000. Additionally, they could be subject to lawsuits brought by groups involved in maintaining or erecting the memorials, or by any Floridian who regularly uses the site for “remembrance purposes.” Courts may award damages of up to $100,000 to the suing party.
The push to remove Confederate images gained momentum in 2015, following the tragic massacre at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. White supremacist Dylann Roof killed nine Black people in that attack and had been photographed multiple times with a Confederate battle flag.
From 2015 to 2018, approximately 110 Confederate memorials were removed across the United States. During this period, Florida stopped flying the Confederate flag over its State House. Hillsborough County was among the first local governments in Florida to act after the Charleston incident; its county commission voted to remove a Confederate flag displayed in its county center.
In 2016, the Florida Legislature voted to remove a statue of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, which represented Florida in the U.S. Capitol. Two years later, in 2018, the state replaced that statue with one of Mary McLeod Bethune, an educator who founded a private college for African American students in Daytona Beach, which later became Bethune-Cookman University.
The movement to remove Confederate statues was revitalized in 2020 after the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white police officer. That year alone, 168 monuments were removed nationwide, sparking a counter-movement aimed at preserving such statues in Florida.
In 2023, Florida Republicans first attempted to pass legislation banning the removal, damage, or destruction of historic monuments. Similar measures were introduced in the 2024 and 2025 legislative sessions but failed to reach either the House or Senate floors.
As of 2024, Florida still has 73 Confederate monuments and memorials statewide.
Sen. McClain’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The 2026 legislative session is scheduled to begin on January 13.
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