Jesse Scheckner
Sunshine State motorists seeking changes in latitudes can now order a new specialty license plate honoring beloved, late tropical troubadour Jimmy Buffett.
Tuesday marks the effective date of HB 403, which directs the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) to develop a Margaritaville license plate named for Buffett’s famous tune and business brand and 11 other specialty tags.
Tuesday is also when the plates go on sale, though FLHSMV must receive at least 3,000 orders before it begins pressing them.
Lawmakers last Session overwhelmingly supported the measure, sponsored by St. Pete Beach Republican Rep. Linda Chaney. Stuart Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell carried the bill’s upper-chamber companion.
Parrotheads who want to take another road and pick up a cheeseburger in paradise in the slow lane can order their plates online. They must pay an extra $25 per year in addition to regular vehicle registration fees.
Proceeds from the Margaritaville plate sales will go to Singing for Change, a nonprofit created by Buffett. Since 1995, it has provided more than $17 million in grants to community-based organizations, particularly those in low-income and impoverished areas.
HB 403 wasn’t the only bill that passed last Session memorializing Buffet, who died at 76 on Sept. 1, 2023, from skin cancer. Lawmakers unanimously approved another bill (HB 91) this year to re-christen State Road A1A as “Jimmy Buffett Highway” from its tip in Ferdinanda Beach to Mile Marker 0 in Key West.
Republican Reps. Chuck Clemons of Newberry and Jim Mooney of Islamorada sponsored the measure in the House. Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book carried its analog.
Book said the road choice was especially suitable before the Senate approved the bill in March, considering Buffett’s fifth studio album was “A1A.”
“Jimmy was an icon to so many,” said Book, whose father, lobbyist Ron Book, was a longtime friend of the singer-songwriter. “My dad wasn’t there when I was born because he was with Jimmy Buffett. It’s family lore at this point.”
Senate President Kathleen Passidomo called HB 91 “the most popular bill of Session.”
Buffett first became a star in the 1970s with songs that blended country, folk and rock. Though born in Alabama, he became ubiquitous with the Key West lifestyle.
Buffett also became deeply involved with environmental causes in his adopted home state and campaigned for Democratic candidates.
After his death, Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered flags in Tallahassee and Key West to be flown at half-staff.
Other license plates authorized through HB 403 honor the Aerospace Center for Excellence, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, United Service Organizations (USO), Recycle Florida Today Foundation, Capt. Sandy Yawn, Cure Diabetes, Project Addiction: Reversing the Stigma, and The Villages for Charter School.
Under the new law, Singing for Change, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Aerospace Center, Villages Charter School, and three organizations under the Cure Diabetes banner — the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, JDRF International Inc., and the University of Florida Foundation Inc., which supports the school’s Diabetes Institute — can use up to 10% of the proceeds for marketing.
The bill also exempts low-performing collegiate license plates from discontinuation. It allows family members of traditionally Black fraternities and sororities to obtain the “Divine Nine” plate, which honors those organizations’ alumni.
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A.G. Gancarski contributed to this report.
