TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – When the onePULSE Foundation dissolved last year, it returned almost $400,000 in grant money to the Florida Dept. of State, meant for a memorial and museum to honor the victims of the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting.
Now that Orlando is working on the memorial, one lawmaker is trying to get that money back for the city.
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State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, has put in an appropriations request for $394,321.
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That’s the same amount of money onePULSE gave back to the state as part of a 2024 settlement over the group’s failed museum and memorial plan.
At the time of the agreement, Secretary of State Cord Byrd said the legislature would determine the best use of the money to honor the victims.
Eskamani told News 6 on Tuesday that the money should be given to the new group working on the memorial — the city of Orlando.
“The amount that we’re requesting is not new money. It is money that was returned to the state of Florida that I want to come back to Orlando to help support this project,” Eskamani said.
In the last year, the city formed a committee to take input from victims' families, survivors and community members.
City commissioners are expected to review the committee’s final recommendations on Feb. 24. Construction on the memorial is expected to begin in late 2026.
Eskamani says she’s optimistic this request will make it into the budget.
“The Pulse funding in particular is something I already spoke to the (House Speaker Daniel Perez) about. I’m very optimistic,” Eskamani said.
The request would have to be approved in the Florida Legislature’s final budget, and then by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The governor can veto individual items from the budget.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer says he wants to see the memorial finished before his term in office is up in 2027.
Eskamani is planning a campaign to succeed Dyer as mayor in 2027.
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