A bill that would affirm St. Johns County as the site of a future Florida Museum of Black History and set up its Board is again advancing in the Legislature’s upper chamber.

Members of the Senate Government Oversight and Accountability Committee voted unanimously for the measure (SB 308) which faces one more committee stop before reaching a floor vote.

It’s substantively the same bill the Senate passed unanimously last year, which subsequently stalled out in the House.

St. Augustine Sen. Tom Leek and Jacksonville Rep. Kiyan Michael — both Republicans — are carrying the legislation again this Session.

If passed, SB 308 and its House twin (HB 525) would codify a prior recommendation by the Florida Museum of Black History Task Force to select St. Johns County as the preferred site for a future museum.

It would also create a new section of Florida law establishing the Florida Museum of Black History Board of Directors, which would be tasked with overseeing the facility’s planning, construction and operation.

Board members would be appointed by the Governor, Senate President and House Speaker. Except for two Senators and two Representatives who would serve in ex officio capacities, members would not be able to hold any other elected post, regardless of whether they were voter-chosen or appointed to the position.

St. Johns County was the top-ranked site among three finalists for the museum chosen in April 2024, followed by Eatonville in Orange County and Opa-locka in Miami-Dade County. Last June, the Legislature earmarked $1 million for the planned project in St. Johns.

Despite that, Opa-locka has continued to fight for the museum, noting, among other things, that while the Task Force recommended St. Johns, it did not officially designate the county as the museum’s site or fund a feasibility study of the project.

A study by Opa-locka-based Ten North Group found Opa-locka to be the most “implementation-ready” site of the three short-listed, citing factors like clear site control, infrastructure and transportation access, proximity to cultural and civic assets, and more viable paths to long-term operating sustainability.

SB 308 will next go to the Senate Rules Committee. HB 525 awaits a hearing before the first of three committees to which it was referred in early December.

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