Florida enacted House Bill 5601 during the 2026 Fifth Special Session. The Governor approved the measure on June 29, and it was recorded as Chapter No. 2026-237 on July 1.
The measure packages four higher-education subjects into one act: an institutional transfer, Title IX provisions, tuition rates for certain students, and the continuation of selected statutory amendments that otherwise faced future repeal.
What the official description establishes
The official bill page says H5601:
- Transfers specified assets and liabilities between the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee and New College of Florida.
- Revises provisions relating to Title IX.
- Revises tuition rates for certain postsecondary students.
- Removes the future repeal of specified amendments to Florida Statutes.
Each phrase depends on definitions and operative language in the enrolled text. The short description does not identify every transferred asset, liability, student group, tuition amount, Title IX rule, or statute whose repeal date was removed.
How the bill moved
Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera sponsored H5601. The House first passed a version on May 12 by 80-26, with 13 members not voting.
The measure then went through a conference process. On May 29, the House adopted a conference committee report and passed the bill as amended by 76-28, with 14 members not voting. The House roll call provides the individual record.
The Senate adopted the conference committee report and passed the measure by 32-2, with five members absent and one not voting. The individual votes appear in the Senate roll call.
The bill was ordered enrolled after those May 29 votes, presented to the Governor on June 23, and approved on June 29.
Four subjects, four sets of questions
Because H5601 combines distinct issues, readers may want to examine each one separately.
Institutional transfer: Which assets and liabilities move between USF Sarasota-Manatee and New College, and what dates and transition duties apply?
Title IX: Which Florida provisions change, and how do the revisions relate to the exact statutory language cited in the act?
Tuition: Which students and rates are covered, and what conditions or exceptions apply?
Repeal dates: Which amendments now remain in law because a future repeal was removed?
These questions are not answered by the bill title or vote margin. The enrolled text is the necessary starting point.
What the source packet does not establish
The saved record does not provide a complete inventory of transferred property, a fiscal estimate, an implementation report, or evidence that tuition will increase or decrease for students outside the covered provisions. It does not establish how any institution will change staffing, programs, admissions, or campus services.
The roll calls also do not explain individual legislators' reasons. They establish that the conference version passed both chambers with recorded opposition, but they do not assign that opposition to any one section of the bill.
For that reason, this overview stays focused on the act's stated subjects, legislative history, and primary documents. Claims about institutional winners and losers, student outcomes, civil-rights effects, or taxpayer costs require more evidence than the short legislative description provides.