FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Faced with backlash over the state ordering cities to remove LGBTQ+ rainbow crosswalks and other decorative street art, Gov. Ron DeSantis has repeatedly cited a new Florida law that he said requires those removals.

But legislators from both sides of the aisle said the law the governor is pointing to contains no explicit language banning roadway art.

DeSantis has defended the state’s removals and orders to eliminate still more asphalt art by pointing to the Florida Legislature, emphasizing that the state Senate unanimously passed a transportation law earlier this year.

The suggestion is that lawmakers are the ones who took the action resulting in the elimination of the rainbow crosswalks and other street art.

It has been DeSantis’ Florida Department of Transportation ordering the removal of such art displays.

Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman, of Palm Beach County, said “it seems to me that he wasn’t expecting the backlash FDOT has received, so now he’s using a bad-faith argument to shift the blame for their actions.”

DeSantis’ remarks

The governor mentioned the Legislature several times this past week while addressing the street art issue.

“So the Legislature passed a change in law recently which said there’s no street art allowed and the Department of Transportation put out guidance,” DeSantis said Wednesday. “We’re going to follow the law,” he added. “We’re just going to abide by the law.”

On Tuesday, he said, “The Florida Legislature passed a law,” “There was enacted,” “The Legislature passed it,” and “All they’re doing is just enforcing the law that had been passed.”

“There’s laws that are on the books that I enforce that I may not fully agree with, but I took an oath to do it and so that’s the way the cookie crumbles, and so but there was a change in law,” DeSantis said. The governor signed the legislation in question into law, something he acknowledged.

The implication conveyed by the governor’s version of events doesn’t fully align with what happened, according to interviews with state lawmakers in both parties, a review of legislation and staff analyses, and official videos of proceedings in legislative committees and in the full Florida Senate and House of Representatives.

The legislation in question was an omnibus measure that contained many provisions, many of them tweaks to existing state statutes governing a range of Florida Department of Transportation activities.

Most of the 87-page Senate Bill 1662 was mundane, though some aspects weren’t. It required recipients of transportation funding to comply with state energy policy. A provision eliminating some parts of transportation law applying to minority- and women-owned businesses, was the only subject of controversy and debate on the floor of the House of Representatives, and the reason seven House members voted “no.”

Sponsors of the legislation, then-state Sen. Jay Collins and state Rep. Shane Abbott, both Republicans, didn’t say anything about crosswalks, intersections or street art during public committee meetings or full Senate and House debate. Collins was appointed by the governor on Aug. 12 to fill the vacant office of lieutenant governor.

The final transportation package adopted by lawmakers contained no explicit language banning street art.

Florida state lawmakers said the section of the law DeSantis and his Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue are citing for the new crackdown on street art has long existed. One section dealing with removal of “any purported traffic control device” had a minor tweak, with four words deleted and seven words added.

‘None of this came up’

Berman was one of several lawmakers who said the removal of crosswalks and other road painting was “absolutely not” discussed by legislators. “I certainly would have remembered it, and I have no memory of this being discussed at all.”

State Rep. Chip LaMarca, a Broward Republican and chair of the House Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee, with jurisdiction over transportation, said crosswalks or painted streets “never” came up among lawmakers in this year’s legislative session. “It was never brought up or mentioned by anybody,” he added.

LaMarca said he spoke with Perdue “multiple times” about the transportation secretary’s priorities this year and there was “never anything like this” involved in those discussions.

Berman and state Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Miami-Dade County Democrat, said if the issue had come up in any way whatsoever, the routine bill would not have easily passed the Senate.

“None of this came up,” Jones said. “It would not have been a unanimous vote if we knew the governor was going to use that language for his political expediency.”

State Rep. Kelly Skidmore of Palm Beach County, the House Democratic policy chair, said the statute cited by the governor “was existing law.” Regulating the crosswalks and street painting was something FDOT could have done all along, she said.

“The reason that they’re using that authority is because of political pressure that stems from (Washington), D.C., and the governor,” Skidmore said. “The governor can say, ‘Oh the Legislature changed the law.’ Certainly not in 2025, we didn’t change the law. So if this was a problem for you (previously) in your administration, why are you only doing it now?”

Sending a message

The issue began receiving public attention on July 1, when President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, decreed that pride intersections don’t belong on public roads.

Writing on social media, Duffy said that “Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks.” Duffy also issued a press release and a “Dear Governor” letter giving states 60 days to identify locations that warranted action.

The next day, Perdue endorsed Duffy’s statement on social media. Perdue wasn’t pride-flag specific, but his message was clear. “Florida’s proactive efforts to ensure we keep our transportation facilities free & clear of political ideologies were cemented into law by @GovRonDeSantis … & reemphasized in FDOT’s attached memo. Great to now have our federal partners also aligned behind this same common-sense policy.”

Perdue attached a memorandum from one of his assistant secretaries that “all traffic control devices, including pavement surfacing markings, be compliant” with state rules.

Despite the directive from Duffy, The Associated Press reported there’s no indication of any widespread actions to remove rainbow crossings outside of Florida.

Jones, the first out LGBTQ+ member of the Florida Senate, said taken in totality the conclusion is clear. “This is a political decision,” he said. “No one asked for this.”

Residents and city leaders in different parts of the state have responded differently. Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach, for example, said they would quickly comply with state instructions to remove their rainbow intersections, designed to show support for their LGBTQ+ residents.

Delray Beach is fighting the efforts.

Also resisting are two cities in LaMarca’s district: Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach.

Fort Lauderdale was ordered to remove the LGBTQ+ rainbow section of Sebastian Street, two intersections decorated with state-approved seascape scenes and midcentury modern colors and shapes on Breakers Avenue, and one other with a zigzag pattern. And late Friday, it was ordered to remove displays at an additional seven sites across the city. Pompano Beach has geometrical designs and musical notes at intersections near City Hall.

Demonstrators gathered Monday evening at Sebastian Street, which is painted like the rainbow progress pride flag near Fort Lauderdale beach, and at the rainbow-painted bridge that links Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors.

On Wednesday evening in Leon County, senior citizens — some arriving with their walkers — turned out to stall a road crew’s efforts to remove a colored crosswalk created in partnership with a nearby elementary school, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. It published a picture of one person lying down in the crosswalk in an act of civil disobedience.

Also Wednesday evening in Fort Lauderdale, dozens of people, many opposed to removing the asphalt art, signed up to speak at a special meeting at which city commissioners voted to fight the state order to remove its rainbow and non-rainbow street art.

LaMarca said he “understand(s) people’s concerns.” But once it was clear the state was applying the policy broadly, not just targeting some intersections for political reasons, he said his concerns were eased. “My biggest concern is I wanted to make sure it’s consistent. It appears now it’s all types of messaging or art.”

“I fully support people’s ability to share their art in the proper place,” LaMarca said. He added he shares the Department of Transportation’s stated concern about safety of roadways and avoiding distractions.

He cited a dubious Florida distinction. Florida regularly ranks among the top five states for pedestrian deaths, which have increased 75% nationally since 2010, according to Smart Growth America, an advocacy group that promotes “equitable and sustainable development.”

Public safety

Research has shown that decorative crosswalks that are being removed increase safety because they’re more visible. A 2022 study from Bloomberg Philanthropies found that “asphalt art” projects “can create safer, more desirable streets and public spaces.”

Comparing crash rates and behavior of pedestrians and motorists before and after projects were installed, “The analysis found significantly improved safety performance across a variety of measures during periods when asphalt art was installed.”

“We know what is killing people, things like lack of visibility, increased speed, increased vehicle size,” said Heidi Simon, director of thriving communities for Smart Growth America. “Despite knowing that those are some of the biggest contributing factors … we have not done enough to change the design of our environment to help mitigate those risk factors.”

Across Florida, designs and colors for some of the asphalt art being eradicated under orders from the state transportation department had been previously approved, and sometimes praised, by that very same agency.

Berman said several of the crosswalks “have been previously approved by FDOT and are proven to increase pedestrian safety. The targeting and removal of everything from memorials to children’s artwork is a politically motivated waste of taxpayer dollars that’s making our streets more dangerous.”

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(Orlando Sentinel staff writer Skyler Swisher contributed to this report.)

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