Latest news with #HB549
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida becomes first state to adopt 'Gulf of America.' Will Alabama be next?
Florida has become the first state to officially recognize the "Gulf of America" as the new name for the body of water, now formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico. On Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed bills HB575 and HB549 into law, making the name change official in both state legislation and public school textbooks. With Florida leading the way, the question now is whether it will become a requirement in neighboring states like Alabama to follow suit or if the state will keep its options open. Here's what we know. This decision follows an executive order issued by President Donald Trump, which renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and changed the name of Denali, a mountain in Alaska, to McKinley to honor President William McKinley. The executive order was titled "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness." Alabama House Bill 247 (HB247) was introduced on Feb. 11, 2025, by Rep. David Standridge to officially rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" in the borders of Alabama. The bill would mandate that all state and local government entities refer to the body of water as the "Gulf of America" in any newly created documents, maps, websites or educational materials. The changes would be updated to existing material so long as it is not a financial burden. The changes would take effect on July 1, 2025, if the bill is signed into law. As of Feb. 20, the bill was read for a second time and put on the legislative calendar to be considered by the House Committee on Ports, Waterways & Intermodal Transit. If the committee approves the bill, the bill would be sent to the House for debate and a vote. Jennifer Lindahl is a Breaking and Trending Reporter for the Deep South Connect Team for Gannett/USA Today. Connect with her on X @jenn_lindahl and email at jlindahl@ This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Gulf of America: Will Alabama be next state to adopt new name?
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gulf of Mexico name change for Florida textbooks and laws signed. When will it happen?
And with a stroke of the pen, Florida became the first state to officially recognize "Gulf of America" as the name of the body of water off the western coast bordering nearly half of the state. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed two bills (HB 575, HB 549) that rename what's currently still known as the Gulf of Mexico in state law and public school textbooks. The move is a response to President Donald Trump's day-one executive order, "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness," to change the name of the Gulf and rename Denali, a mountain in Alaska, back to Mount McKinley. DeSantis was also the first to use "Gulf of America" in any official capacity when he referred to it in an order concerning the freak winter storm that shattered Florida's 130-year-old snow records just hours after Trump's directive in January. Here's what to know. Under HB 575, The Designation of the Gulf of Mexico, all references in Florida statutes to the Gulf of Mexico must be changed to Gulf of America. It's a long list, as it includes 53 different mentions, including all descriptions of boundary lines for Florida counties bordering the Gulf, references to tourist development taxes, coastal construction regulations, property rights regulations, beach management, the definition of "coastal barrier islands." tax regulations for oil drilling aznd more. A tongue-in-cheek amendment to the bill from Rep. Dr. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, to instead change the name of the Gulf to the Gulf of Endor — with requirements for other landmarks to also be renamed after other "Star Wars" locations — was not added or we might have seen the Grand Canyon renamed "Sarlacc Pit," Las Vegas now called "Mos Eisley" and Interstate 4 changed to the "Kessel Run." The changes to state law will take effect on July 1, 2025. Under HB 549: Gulf of America, all state agencies must update their geographic materials to use the new name. Initially, that would have meant all existing school books and educational materials, but an amendment changed that to require the new name in all instructional materials and library media collections adopted or acquired on or after July 1, so schools have some time. On January 20, the first day of his second term, Trump directed the secretary of the interior to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America' for use on official maps and throughout the federal government. This is ordinarily at least a six-month process, but it was fast-tracked by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names and quickly adopted by Google Maps, Apple Maps and others. Once it was changed, Trump issued a proclamation declaring Feb. 9 to be "Gulf of America Day." "The area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America," the order said. It didn't receive universal acceptance. MapQuest allowed users to name the Gulf whatever they wanted and the order was mocked by Democrats, late night hosts and on social media. The Associated Press, a worldwide news organization, announced that its widely used style guide would continue to refer to the Gulf as the "Gulf of Mexico" since it shares borders with another country and has been called that for more than 400 years. The Trump administration reacted by barring its reporters from events. AP sued, and last week, a federal judge ordered the White House to lift its access restrictions. Other countries are not obligated to honor the new name. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo mocked the suggestion at the time, suggesting the United States should be called "Mexican America." However, recognizing the new name is likely to be a sticking point for countries hoping to deal diplomatically with the Trump administration. Trump is not the first to suggest it. In 2012, former U.S. Rep. D. Stephen Holland of Mississippi proposed a bill to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to "Gulf of America." He meant it as a joke, to mock his Republican colleagues he said seemed to want to push anything or anyone Mexican out of the state. Two years previously, when he was on "The Colbert Report," late night host Steven Colbert created a "Gulf of America" fund to help clean up after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster dumped 210 million gallons across nearly 60,000 square miles of the Gulf over a period of four months in 2010. "I don't think we can call it the Gulf of Mexico anymore," he said at the time. "We broke it, we bought it." More than half of Florida's coast borders the Gulf of Mexico, a partially landlocked body of water between the United States and Mexico that links ports in five Southern states and Mexico with the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean with two passages — called the Florida Straits — on either side of Cuba and the Yucatan Channel between Mexico and Cuba. The Gulf has an average depth of 5,300 feet. The Gulf mainland shore runs more than 4,000 miles from the Florida Keys to Cabo Catoche on the Yucatán Peninsula. Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas all share the coast, along with the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Vera Cruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo. While existing residents certainly knew about it and had their own names, the first European to find the Gulf was Sebastián de Ocampo in 1508-1509, according to the Texas State Historical Association. It remained unnamed until the early 1540s and was considered part of the "North Sea" (Atlantic Ocean). One map dated 1584 called it "Mare de Nort," or "Sea of the North." Baptiste Boazio, the illustrator and map maker of Francis Drake's Caribbean cruise of attacks in the 1580s, used "Gulf of Mexico" on his map "View of Entire Route of Sir Francis Drake's West Indian Voyage." A 1630 map called the body of water "Gulf of New Spain." The Spanish name evolved into Seno Mexicano. "Seno" means "gulf" or "bay." It has also been called Golfo de Nueva España and Golfo de México on various maps and documents, and there are at least 32 different versions of the name in different languages and dialects, according to the United States Geological Survey. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Gulf of America now official name in Florida. When do books change?
Miami Herald
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Measure to reflect Gulf of America name change in new school materials heading to DeSantis
Forget the Gulf of Mexico. It's the Gulf of America. At least that's the message the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature wants to send. The Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that would change dozens of state laws to carry out President Donald Trump's directive that the Gulf of Mexico should be called the Gulf of America. The Senate also gave a final sign-off to a bill that would require the name change to start being reflected in materials at state agencies and schools. The House already had passed the bills, meaning they are ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign them. The bills (HB 549 and HB 575) passed the Senate in 28-9 votes. All Republicans supported the bills. Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo, D-Sunny Isles Beach, also voted for both; Sen. Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville, and Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, each voted for one of the bills. Sen. Nick DiCeglie, an Indian Rocks Beach Republican who sponsored the bill about changing state laws, said the name change reflects the United States as an 'exceptional' country. 'Genuinely, to me, this is about patriotism,' DiCeglie said. But Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boca Raton, said the lawmakers were spending time on a 'symbolic gesture that offers no tangible benefits' and suggested the change was being made for political reasons. She said lawmakers should focus on other issues such as property insurance and education. 'A renaming serves no practical purpose,' Berman said. Trump's executive order in January directed the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior to 'rename the Gulf of Mexico as the 'Gulf of America' in order to recognize the importance of the body of water to the United States.' After the executive order, DeSantis jumped on the issue. In an order he issued about a winter storm, DeSantis referred to an 'area of low pressure moving across the Gulf of America.' Trump's executive order, however, couldn't change state laws. As an example of the changes that would be made by the bill about state laws (HB 575), legal descriptions of boundaries of gulf-front counties from Escambia to Collier include references to the Gulf of Mexico. Those would change to the Gulf of America. The other bill (HB 549) would require state agencies to update 'geographic materials' to reflect the name change. Also, it would require that school instructional materials adopted or purchased as of July 1 include the Gulf of America name. Senate sponsor Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, described the bill as 'common sense.'
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Laws, textbooks in Florida set to rename Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America by July
With a nod to President Donald Trump, the Gulf of Mexico might soon be called the Gulf of America in Florida law – and in K-12 textbooks. Two House bills (HB 575, HB 549) would change the name of the body of water that borders almost half of Florida to the Gulf of America in state statute and directs state agencies and school districts after July 1 of this year to adopt instructional materials that include this change. Both bills were passed by the Florida Senate on Wednesday afternoon and are on the way to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who will almost certainly sign them. "Gulf of America is not a horrible name change for the Gulf of Mexico," said Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-St. Petersburg, the sponsor of the Senate version of the bill. "I think it recognizes the fact that we are an exceptional country, and quite frankly, I thought this was long overdue." The bills follow up on Trump's executive order, "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness," to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and Denali, a mountain in Alaska, back to Mount McKinley. If signed, Florida will be the first state to "officially recognize" the Gulf of America, DiCeglie said. HB 549 will require all new purchases of instructional "geographic materials," like textbooks, and additions to media center libraries to refer to the Gulf of America. Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boyton Beach, questioned why the Florida Senate was working on this legislation, saying the renaming served "no practical purpose." "It will not improve the lives of our constituents, nor will it advance our state's economic, educational or environmental policies," Berman said. "Instead, it diverts our attention and resources from urgent issues that generally affect the lives of Floridians." But DeCeglie said he can "chew gum and walk at the same time," and called voting for the bill "patriotic." 'Ever since President Trump entered the Oval Office, he has fought for America First policies that honor our country's greatness,' said Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula. 'Mr. President, I'm proud to say that the Florida Senate stands with you in the fight to recognize the Gulf of America and celebrate American exceptionalism.' Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@ This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Floridians face coastal name change to Gulf of America in state law
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida House considers controversial bill to tighten restrictions on ballot initiatives
The Florida House on Thursday will take up a controversial proposal that would place additional restrictions on ballot initiatives. The proposal (HB 1205), sponsored by Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers, emerged after fierce political battles last year over proposed constitutional amendments on abortion rights and recreational marijuana. Backers of the proposals spent more than $100 million on each of the initiatives, which fell short of garnering the 60 percent voter approval needed to pass. The House bill would impose new restrictions on petition-signature gatherers and the groups that back ballot initiatives. The proposal, for example, would require signature gatherers to be residents of Florida and the U.S. Also, one of the most-cententious parts of the bill would shorten from 30 days to 10 days the length of time signature gatherers would have to submit petitions to supervisors of elections and increase penalties for late-filed petitions. The proposal also would require voters to provide identifying information, such as their driver's license numbers, when signing petitions. The House will consider the bill during a floor session that also will include numerous other issues, including legislation (HB 575 and HB 549) to carry out President Donald Trump's order to change the name of the Gulf Of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
