Florida Senate - 2015 CS for SB 946 By the Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation; and Senator Bullard 592-03759-15 2015946c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to legal holidays and special 3 observances; creating s. 683.095, F.S.; designating 4 the second Monday in October of each year as “Sir 5 Lancelot Jones Day” in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties; 6 encouraging public officials, schools, private 7 organizations, and citizens in Miami-Dade and Monroe 8 Counties to commemorate the occasion; providing an 9 effective date. 10 11 WHEREAS, born in 1898 on a 22-foot boat in Biscayne Bay, 12 entrepreneur and farmer Sir Lancelot Garfield Jones prospered by 13 supplying the nation with Key limes and was an expert fishing 14 guide sought by five presidents and numerous senators, 15 influential industrialists, and other cultural icons eager to 16 experience the beauty of the bay’s wildlife, and 17 WHEREAS, Sir Lancelot Garfield Jones lived most of his 99 18 years on the tiny island known as Porgy Key, near the southern 19 end of Biscayne Bay, which was first settled by his pioneer 20 father and Bahamian mother in 1897 in an area long associated 21 with African American maritime history and which is now on the 22 National Register of Historical Places, and 23 WHEREAS, given the adjacent ecosystems of southern Biscayne 24 Bay and the northern Florida Keys, the lifelong conservation and 25 education efforts of Sir Lancelot Garfield Jones are of 26 significant importance to Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, and 27 WHEREAS, often referred to as the “Sage of Caesar Creek,” 28 Sir Lancelot Garfield Jones became an educator of schoolchildren 29 and a conservationist whose resolute values toward the 30 preservation of Biscayne Bay greatly contributed to the 31 establishment of Biscayne National Park, which was created to 32 preserve and protect area wildlife for the education, 33 inspiration, recreation, and enjoyment of present and future 34 generations, and 35 WHEREAS, Biscayne National Park is home to a rare 36 combination of terrestrial, marine, and amphibious life in a 37 tropical and subtropical setting of great natural beauty, which 38 annually draws an average of 500,000 visitors, contributes more 39 than $34 million to the state’s economy, and supports 422 jobs, 40 and 41 WHEREAS, the invaluable efforts of Sir Lancelot Garfield 42 Jones to preserve the land he loved and to ensure that future 43 generations would delight in its beauty and abundance have 44 resulted in significant economic, ecological, and cultural 45 contributions to the state, its heritage, and its future, NOW, 46 THEREFORE, 47 48 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 49 50 Section 1. Section 683.095, Florida Statutes, is created to 51 read: 52 683.095 Sir Lancelot Jones Day; Miami-Dade and Monroe 53 Counties.—The second Monday in October of each year is 54 designated as “Sir Lancelot Jones Day” in Miami-Dade and Monroe 55 Counties to commemorate the contributions of Sir Lancelot 56 Garfield Jones in the preservation of Biscayne Bay and the 57 establishment of Biscayne National Park. Public officials, 58 schools, private organizations, and all citizens in Miami-Dade 59 and Monroe Counties are encouraged to honor the legacy of Sir 60 Lancelot Garfield Jones and his contributions to the state by 61 commemorating Sir Lancelot Jones Day on the second Monday in 62 October of each year. 63 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.