| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to official state designations; creating |
| 3 | s. 15.0495, F.S.; designating the anthem "Oh Florida, My |
| 4 | Sweet Home," as the official state anthem; providing an |
| 5 | effective date. |
| 6 |
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| 7 | WHEREAS, the designation of an official state anthem is not |
| 8 | intended to diminish in any way the historical value or to |
| 9 | remove or supersede the designation of "The Suwannee River (Old |
| 10 | Folks at Home)" by Stephen C. Foster as the state song or the |
| 11 | designation of any future state song, and |
| 12 | WHEREAS, a state anthem is an official work of music |
| 13 | dedicated to our great state and showing a sense of pride in the |
| 14 | many special attributes of Florida and its people, and |
| 15 | WHEREAS, a state anthem, like the national anthem, is |
| 16 | intended to be performed at public events or venues to provide a |
| 17 | declaration of the unique characteristics of our state and its |
| 18 | citizens and to publicly and collectively declare our pride in |
| 19 | the state we hold so dear, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Section 1. Section 15.0495, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 24 | to read: |
| 25 | 15.0495 Official state anthem.--The anthem "Oh Florida, My |
| 26 | Sweet Home," music and lyrics written by Graham W. Fountain and |
| 27 | Warren L. Halstrom, is hereby designated as the official state |
| 28 | anthem. |
| 29 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |