Scott Signs Off On Replacing Confederate Soldier's Statue
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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) -- Governor Rick Scott signed off on a bill Thursday that will lead to replacing the statue of a Confederate general at the National Statuary Hall in Washington.
Each state is allowed two statues in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol, and Florida is represented by statues of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith and John Gorrie, who is widely considered the father of air conditioning.
Under the bill (SB 310), a committee will recommend three prominent Floridians as potential replacements for Smith, and the Legislature will pick one whose statue will be placed in the hall.
Overall, Scott signed 26 bills into law Thursday. Among them was a measure (SB 416) that will require state and local governments to pick up the costs of relocating utility lines in public easements if relocation is needed for such things as road projects.
Lawmakers took up the issue after the 2nd District Court of Appeal in 2014 sided with the city of Cape Coral in a dispute with the Lee County Electric Cooperative about paying for moving utility lines.
Another newly signed bill (SB 86) will require the State Board of Administration to compile a list of companies that boycott Israel. The State Board of Administration, which runs Florida's pension fund, will not be able to invest in those companies.
Also, the bill will prevent state and local governments from entering into contracts worth $1 million or more with the companies.
(The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.)