State budget leaders OK state funds for Pulse memorial in Orlando

Florida House and Senate leaders have agreed to give the city of Orlando nearly $400,000 for the construction of a permanent memorial to commemorate the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 and wounded more than 50.

As reported by Florida Politics, the House and Senate had previously been split on how much to allocate for the request, which came from Orlando-area State Rep. Anna Eskamani and Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith. The House had, in its own budget offer, previously agreed to allocate about $197,00, while the Senate offered the full requested amount of $394,321.

Although state leaders have approved state money for the Pulse memorial project in the past, that money went to the OnePulse Foundation, a nonprofit formed by one of the former club owners that dissolved at the end of 2023 in disgrace following years of alleged mismanagement. The nonprofit, which raised millions of dollars in public and private funds, never broke ground on its planned construction of a memorial and controversial museum concept. According to a news release from the Florida Department of State, the nonprofit repaid the state for its unused funds last January.

“Taxpayers expect the State of Florida to be good stewards of their money. The money provided by the grant to onePULSE Foundation was authorized by the Florida Legislature for a specific purpose,” said Secretary of State Cord Byrd. “The Foundation failed to fulfill the requirements set forth in the grant. Through our efforts, the money is now being returned to the State, and the Legislature will determine the best use of these monies to honor the memory of the victims.”

Rep. Eskamani and Sen. Smith subsequently submitted matching funding requests this year for the city of Orlando, which took over the Pulse memorial construction project ahead of OnePulse’s dissolution.

“While the state budget is still a work in progress and requires final approval by both legislative chambers, we are very pleased to see that the House and Senate are currently proposing to fully fund the City of Orlando’s request for a generous state contribution towards the Pulse Memorial,” city spokesperson Ashley Papagni said in a statement. “We are thankful to the appropriation sponsors and House and Senate leadership for their support of the victims, survivors, families, and first responders impacted by the Pulse tragedy.”

Survivors and families of the 49 shooting victims will be touring inside of the former LGBTQ+ club this week for the first time since the June 12, 2016, shooting. More than half of those killed were Latinos and people of color (the gunman opened fire at the tail end of the club’s Latin Night) and most were LGBTQ+.

The city of Orlando opened up a request for proposal portal for the Pulse memorial construction and design services earlier this year, and closed the portal at the end of last month. According to the city, city officials received five submissions for the RFP, which Orlando City Council will be reviewing in July.

The city has put together an estimated budget of $12 million for the memorial total, which is expected to break ground next year and be completed by the end of 2027. The Orange County board of commissioners recently agreed to commit $5 million to the memorial project over the next three years, while the city has committed to up to$7.5 million.

According to Sen. Smith’s state funding proposal, the city of Orlando “will agree to return any unused state funds to the State of Florida if there is a material failure to meet deliverables or performance measures as provided in a grant agreement between the Department and the City of Orlando.”

All requested funds will be spent solely on the planning, design, and construction of a permanent National Pulse Memorial at the former club site, per Smith’s request. None of the money will be used to cover city employee salaries or consultant costs.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, however, still has final approval on whether to approve the budget sent to him by the Florida Legislature (including local funding requests) for the upcoming fiscal year.

You can view renderings of the memorial design concept, approved by a committee of survivors, families, and stakeholders, here.

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This article appears in Jun 11-17, 2025.