HB 31 (2020): Soldiers' and Heroes' Monuments and Memorials Protection Act

• Revises the definition of "veteran" in Florida Statutes to include additional wartime service periods, including the Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 1961) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (March 19, 2003 onward).

• Creates section 265.155 defining "remembrance" as monuments, memorials, artwork, plaques, building names, and similar objects honoring soldiers, military figures, government officials, law enforcement, firefighters, astronauts, and armed conflicts involving Florida residents.

• Prohibits relocation, removal, alteration, or renaming of remembrances on public property erected after March 22, 1822, except for construction or repairs, with relocated items required to be returned within 90 days; prohibits concealment exceeding 45 days per 12-month period.

• Makes willful damage to, defacement of, or removal of remembrances owned by governmental entities, museums, historical societies, or located in cemeteries a third-degree felony.

• Grants state residents, historic preservation entities, veterans, and law enforcement benevolent organizations standing to enforce these protections through civil action; effective July 1, 2020.