The Senate is pumping the brakes on an effort that would transfer the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus to New College of Florida, along with other education matters.
The Senate Appropriations Committee adopted a “delete everything” amendment to HB 5601 proposed by Stuart Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell — stripping the bill of all substantive language before reporting it favorably.
“This amendment, as with others, deletes everything and inserts nothing,” Harrell told Committee members Monday.
The campus transfer proposal has been a central flashpoint in budget negotiations, with the House backing a plan aligned with Gov. Ron DeSantis to transfer all USF Sarasota-Manatee property and facilities to New College by July 1, but added a proposal to also shift an additional $22.47 million in recurring funding from USF to New College to the plan.
The Senate has resisted that funding shift, creating a divide between the chambers. Sources have warned that the additional funding transfer could jeopardize the broader property deal, with USF leadership arguing that losing those funds would threaten current students and employee salaries
As passed by the House, HB 5601 would transfer property and associated liabilities from the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus to New College of Florida, authorize university boards of trustees to set out-of-state tuition rates for nonresident students, require institutions to dedicate 12% of certain carry-forward funds to public education capital outlay projects or deferred maintenance, and allow state funds to be used to support Title IX compliance, along with other education matters.
Monday’s amendment removes the entire contents of the House-passed measure, which cleared the chamber 76-28 on Feb. 19. The House had formally requested that the Senate either pass the bill as approved or include it in budget conference negotiations. A conference committee has already been appointed.
HB 5601 now moves forward in the Senate in stripped form, leaving the fate of the campus transfer and other higher education provisions uncertain.
