Bill to Rename BK Roberts Hall did not pass

Unfortunately the Florida legislature this year did not pass the bill that would have allowed FSU to rename BK Roberts Hall at the FSU law school.  The bill passed the Senate and then was sent to the House, but at the end of the legislative session last week the House failed to take up the bill for a vote, and thus the proposal died during this year's session. 

Since the legislature placed Roberts' name on the building, only the legislature can remove it.  The bill passed the Senate on April 25 by a 34-1 margin and things looked rosy as the Senate then sent the matter to the House, But the proposal died when the session ended with the House taking no action on it. While getting the matter approved by the Senate showed significant progress—without the approval of the House and the governor's signature, the current law was not changed. While it is a disappointment, it was not unexpected that the proposal might take two or three years to pass.

We will be back next year and I will continue to work with the FSU lobbyist and others to right this historic "wrong" and assure that the law school's main classroom building is named for someone other than BK Roberts.