A House Republican on Tuesday proposed designating the Florida scrub-jay as the official state bird, displacing the mockingbird, which has held the designation for nearly a century.
Rep. Sam Killebrew, R-Winter Haven, filed the proposal (HB 1) for consideration during the 2023 legislative session, which will start in March.
Killebrew proposed a similar bill for the 2022 session, but it was not heard in committees. The new bill said the mockingbird was designated the state bird during the 1927 legislative session.
