Second Florida lawmaker seeks to end Confederate holidays
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A proposal is back in the Florida Senate that would end legal holidays marking the birthdays of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, along with Confederate Memorial Day.
Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, on Monday filed a bill (SB 1116) to remove the Lee, Davis and Confederate Memorial days from a list of legal holidays on the books in Florida.
The bill is filed for consideration during the 2021 legislative session, which will begin March 2.
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Lee’s birthday, Jan. 19, and Confederate Memorial Day, April 26, have been legal holidays in Florida since 1895. Davis’ birthday, June 3, was added in 1905.
Florida is one of five states that have kept Confederate Memorial Day a legal holiday. Confederate Memorial Day and the Lee and Davis days are not paid holidays for public employees in Florida.
A similar proposal Book sponsored in 2018 was approved by one Senate committee but did not pass the Legislature. It drew objections from people who argued the proposal would erase Southern history.
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Rep. Mike Grieco, D-Miami Beach, filed a similar bill last month (HB 6007).
Other legal holidays that are not paid holidays include Susan B. Anthony’s birthday, Good Friday, Flag Day and Pascua Florida Day, which marks the 1513 arrival in Florida of Juan Ponce de Leon.