South Florida’s biggest hotel lobbying organization lobby is cheering a Fontainebleau makeover now headed to preservation review in Miami Beach.

The Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association (GMBHA) is urging the city’s Historic Preservation Board to approve Fontainebleau Miami Beach’s proposed “family-friendly improvements,” arguing the project would help keep the city competitive as a global hospitality destination.

In a letter to the Board, GMBHA President and CEO Curtis Crider framed the plan as a reinvestment play for the broader hotel ecosystem, calling such projects “essential” to Miami Beach’s economic future.

The group said the proposal would enhance the guest and resident experience while respecting the resort’s historic character.

“Projects like this are not only beneficial, but they are also essential,” Crider wrote. “On behalf of the hotel community, we believe this initiative strengthens the city’s competitiveness, supports sustainable economic growth, and reflects the evolution necessary to ensure Miami Beach’s continued success.”

Fontainebleau Development, led by Chair and CEO Jeffrey Soffer, said the proposal is designed to “responsibly repurpose” existing outdoor areas without expanding the hotel’s amenity footprint or altering its architectural character.

“Fontainebleau is an institution in Miami, from its iconic design to the incredible experiences it has long offered, and it remains as a part of what makes Miami Beach so special,” he said in a statement.

Anthony Stahl, Fontainebleau’s Senior Vice President of Development, said the goal is a “thoughtful evolution” that preserves what makes the Fontainebleau iconic while ensuring “it continues to resonate with today’s families.”

GMBHA’s endorsement adds organized industry support as the long-running debate over Miami Beach’s identity — party town, family destination, or both — continues to shape major redevelopment proposals.

The Fontainebleau, designed by architect Morris Lapidus and opened in 1954, is one of Miami Beach’s signature MiMo-era landmarks and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The city’s Historic Preservation Board reviews alterations affecting designated historic properties and recommends guidelines for evaluating proposed changes.

Recent reporting has described Fontainebleau’s plan as a sweeping rework of its outdoor pool deck aimed at attracting more families, including a proposed water-park concept featuring 11 waterslides — one reportedly about 120 feet tall — along with other pool-deck upgrades.

The concept has drawn attention because it would require Preservation Board scrutiny for work on a historically significant site, even as the developer argues it can be achieved through reconfigured, existing outdoor spaces rather than an expanded footprint.

A Preservation Board hearing on the project was scheduled for Jan. 13, but the city canceled the meeting Monday. The Board’s next meeting is on Feb. 10, though the construction of a new fire station building is currently the only matter on the agenda.

As lawmakers in Tallahassee spar over headline issues like property tax relief, redistricting and immigration enforcement, a quieter set of proposals could reshape how Florida law treats members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The bills, filed on both sides of the LGBTQ culture war, span outdated rules on same-sex marriage, flags on government property, pronoun use in workplaces, health care, criminal law and gender ideology in public schools — reviving familiar debates through measures framed around parental rights, free speech or government neutrality.

Anti same-sex marriage statute repeal

Boca Raton Democrat Sen. Tina Polsky and House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa filed legislation (SB 952, HB 6019) to repeal dormant language in Florida law prohibiting same-sex marriage. The provision has been unenforceable for years following federal court rulings and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015, but language remains on the books.

Flags displayed on public property

Jacksonville Republican Sen. Clay Yarborough and Doral Republican Rep. David Borrero filed bills (SB 426, HB 347) to prohibit governmental entities from displaying any flag on public property other than a limited list of approved flags.

Approved flags include the U.S. flag, state flags, local government flags, the flag of a branch of the U.S. armed forces, a POW-MIA flag, the flag of an Indian tribe, the flag of a public school, official Paralympic or Olympic flags, the flag of any sporting organization hosting events in the state, and “a flag of historical significance to the government of the United States or this state.”

The bills would specifically bar flags that contain or depict symbols representing political ideology, race, gender or sexual orientation. Violations would be subject to a $500-per-day civil fine.

Workplace pronoun use

Republican Ocala Sen. Stan McClain and Republican Longwood Rep. Rachel Plakon filed legislation (SB 1642, HB 641) to prohibit covered public employers from requiring employees or contractors to use another person’s preferred pronouns if those pronouns do not correspond to the person’s sex.

The bills, titled the “Freedom of Conscience in the Workplace Act,” would also bar employees from requiring employers to use pronouns that do not correspond to the employee’s sex.

The measures would require that any employment forms requesting a person’s sex provide only “male” or “female” as options. Language would also prohibit employers that receive state funding from requiring training or instruction related to sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression as a condition of employment.

Health care and Medicaid coverage

Miami Gardens Democrat Sen. Shevrin Jones and Orlando Democrat Rep. Anna Eskamani filed measures (SB 782, HB 681), known as the Health Care Freedom Act. The bills include provisions that would require Medicaid reimbursement for medically necessary treatment related to gender dysphoria. The bills would also prohibit discrimination in reimbursement decisions based on gender identity.

Criminal law and the ‘panic defense’

Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Rep. Jennifer Harris, both Orlando Democrats, filed legislation (SB 336, HB 317) to eliminate the so-called “gay or transgender panic” defense in criminal cases.

The proposals would prohibit defendants from justifying or excusing violent conduct or seeking reduced charges or sentences based on a victim’s actual or perceived sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression — including claims involving a nonviolent sexual advance. Similar proposals have been introduced in past Sessions but have failed to clear the Legislature.

Schools and parental rights

Bills filed by Republican Fort Pierce Sen. Erin Grall and Republican St. Johns Rep. Kim Kendall (SB 166, HB 173) revisit how sexual orientation and gender identity may be addressed in public schools — an issue that has generated repeated legislative action in recent years.

The bills would prohibit “classroom instruction” on sexual orientation or gender identity in prekindergarten through eighth grade. Instruction in ninth through 12th grade would be permitted only if deemed age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate under state standards.

If approved, the bills would also expand parental notification requirements by directing school personnel to “encourage a student to discuss issues relating to his or her well-being with his or her parents.” School Districts would be barred from adopting policies that prevent staff from notifying parents about such issues, unless a “reasonably prudent” person would believe disclosure could result in abuse, abandonment or neglect.

Additional provisions require parental notice and consent before administering certain student questionnaires or screenings related to health or well-being.