Bill Would Rename Florida Campus Roads for Charlie Kirk

Florida Rep. Kevin Steele filed House Bill 113 to require 40 public colleges and universities to rename a specified on‑campus road or portion of a road as Charlie James Kirk within 90 days of the law’s effective date or face withholding of state funds. The two‑page bill lists exact streets at each institution — for example, the University of Florida’s Stadium Road, UCF’s Gemini Boulevard South and FSU’s Chieftain Way — and would take effect immediately if passed and signed. As of early October no Senate companion had been filed, and the proposal still requires legislative approval and Gov. Ron DeSantis’s signature to become law. The measure follows the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University and comes amid other Florida tributes, including a Lake County “Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway” and New College’s planned statue. Critics, including some Democratic lawmakers, say the bill is coercive and politically charged because it would override campus naming decisions under threat of funding loss.