Florida Attorney General - Volume 6, Issue 11

Publication of the Office of the Attorney General • Volume 6, Issue 11 • March 14, 2008

Weekly Message from Attorney General Bill McCollum

On Sunday, we will recognize the start of Sunshine Week, a national initiative that champions the public's right to know what its government is doing. Sunshine Week has been recognized nationally for several years but was first launched in Florida in 2002 by a group of journalists who were seeking to protect the public's access to its government.

In Florida, every person has been granted the Constitutional right to inspect or copy any public record with some exemptions, and the Sunshine Law provides a right of access to government proceedings at both the state and local levels. Without this access there is little accountability, and accountability is vital for good government.

I am proud of the key role the Attorney General's Office plays in keeping Florida's government open to all Floridians. My office is charged with mediating disputes involving access to public records and provides a mediation program to that effect – a resource which can be requested by any member of the public and was put into action more than 75 times in 2007. The mediation program involves an impartial individual who encourages and facilitates the resolution of a dispute involving access to public records. By allowing parties to resolve issues in an informal mediation process, we prevent expensive and time-consuming litigation which is often not an option for a citizen who is merely trying to hold his or her government accountable and responsible for its actions.

Often, the Attorney General's Office is not contacted by members of the public, but instead by members of the media who are standing in for the rest of Florida and holding our government to necessarily high standards. As with the initiation of Sunshine Sunday, this is an admirable objective and should be facilitated in every manner possible, and my office will continue to facilitate these resolutions in a timely and service-oriented manner. More information about services related to open records and open government is available on my website, http://myfloridalegal.com.

I invite all Floridians, members of the media and general public alike, to visit this website and learn about the tools and resources my office provides to help hold Florida's public servants to the standards which make them deserving of recognition as leaders in the nation. Together, we can permit the values which inspired Sunshine Week to last the entire year.

Hover over each image for a larger size.

Attorney General McCollum announced the release of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women's Sixteenth Annual Report. The report, titled "Smart Surfing: A Resource Guide for Internet Safety," was created to raise awareness about the need for women to have the knowledge and skills to protect themselves and their families from many types of computer crimes. The report features information from the Attorney General's CyberCrime Unit and CyberSafety presentations and will serve as a resource on internet safety for Florida's women.

To date, the Attorney General's CyberSafety program has reached more than 45,300 students.

With Spring Break here and families planning for summer vacations, Attorney General McCollum issued a consumer advisory cautioning Florida residents and guests to be wary of the various scams and fraud which could be associated with vacation packages and other travel-related services. The Attorney General encouraged consumers to report travel-related fraud to his office, particularly issues related to improperly disclosed surcharges, misleading advertisements or problems associated with timeshares. Complaints about travel-related issues ranked third last year among the categories of complaints reported to the Attorney General's Office.

Attorney General McCollum announced that his Economic Crimes Division reached a resolution with two cruise lines over the imposition of a fuel supplement on cruise passengers. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Celebrity Cruises have agreed to refund $21 million to consumers nationwide who were charged the fuel surcharge after they had booked their cruise. The Attorney General also advised Florida consumers to carefully check their hotel, cruise and airline bills for any surcharges not properly disclosed and to report any problems to the Attorney General's Office.

Attorney General McCollum announced that his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has reached a civil settlement with a Tampa company which provides personal care assistance, companion services and supported living services. The settlement resolves allegations that an employee of We Care, Inc. improperly billed the Florida Medicaid program for services never provide to mentally disabled Medicaid recipients. The fraudulent billing resulted in a loss of more than $41,000 from the Florida Medicaid program.

Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Retrieves More Than $41,000 Through Civil Settlement

McCollum: Be Wary of Scams, Fraud Associated with Vacation Packages and Travel

Three Outstanding Women Inducted into Florida Women's Hall of Fame

Florida Commission on Status of Women Releases Annual Report on Internet Safety

Cruise Line Passengers Nationwide Will Recover $21 Million from Florida Agreement

Attorney General McCollum announced that he has launched a bi-weekly audio message to discuss the efforts being made to combat cybercrime and cyberfraud, including the Attorney General's CyberSafety education initiative and other cyber-related consumer protection issues. The audio message provides Attorney General McCollum with another avenue to communicate his commitment to these priority issues within the Attorney General's Office. Below is a link to the first audio message published in this series, with regular messages to follow on a bi-weekly basis.

http://www.clickcaster.com/billmccollum

Attorney General Bill McCollum was featured on the Fox Business show earlier this week. The video is available after the commercial here .