F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 17 2023
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to designation of the state bird;
3 creating s. 15.0352, F.S.; designating the Florida
4 scrub-jay as the official state bird; specifying that
5 the act supersedes designation of the mockingbird as
6 the state bird; providing an effective date.
7
8 WHEREAS, the Florida scrub-jay is a bird measuring from 9
9 to 11 inches in length with blue wings, head, and tail, a gray
10 back and underparts, and a whitish forehead and neck, and
11 WHEREAS, protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the
12 Florida scrub-jay is also protected as a threatened species by
13 the federal Endangered Species Act and as a federally designated
14 threatened species by the Florida Endangered and Threatened
15 Species Rule, and
16 WHEREAS, the Florida scrub-jay is the only bird species
17 endemic to the State of Florida, NOW, THEREFORE,
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Section 15.0352, Florida Statutes, is created
22 to read:
23 15.0352 Official state bird.—The Florida scrub-jay
24 (Aphelocoma coerulescens) is designated as the official Florida
25 state bird.
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 17 2023
26 Section 2. This act supersedes the designation by Senate
27 Concurrent Resolution No. 3, adopted at the 1927 Regular
28 Session, of the mockingbird as the Florida state bird.
29 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
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