Florida Senate - 2021                                    SB 1778
       
       
        
       By Senator Cruz
       
       
       
       
       
       18-01667-21                                           20211778__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to state symbols; creating s. 15.0522,
    3         F.S.; designating the blue crab as the official state
    4         crustacean; providing an effective date.
    5  
    6         WHEREAS, deviled crab originated in Tampa’s Ybor City
    7  neighborhood, the home of Tampa’s immigrant community, which
    8  dates back to the early 1900s, and
    9         WHEREAS, deviled crab aficionados insist that the authentic
   10  Devil Crab be made from blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) and a
   11  brand of Cuban-style bread that is baked in the City of Tampa,
   12  and
   13         WHEREAS, the economical and plentiful supply of deviled
   14  crab is credited with helping many in Tampa survive the 10-month
   15  cigar workers’ strike in 1920, and was the favored food of many
   16  on the picket line, and
   17         WHEREAS, in recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month
   18  2020, and in acknowledgment of the City of Tampa’s multicultural
   19  background, NOW, THEREFORE,
   20  
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. Section 15.0522, Florida Statutes, is created to
   24  read:
   25         15.0522 Official state crustacean.—The blue crab
   26  (Callinectes sapidus), used by Tampans to make Devil Crab, is
   27  designated as the official Florida state crustacean.
   28         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.