AG Thanks Fla. Legislature for Passing Bills to Protect Floridians

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody today thanked the Florida Legislature for passing multiple bills to protect Floridians. Attorney General Moody worked with lawmakers this session to pass legislation to bolster the state’s opioid litigation, provide stability to Florida’s criminal justice system, ensure children suffering from rare forms of epilepsy can access life-changing medication and more.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “I want to thank each member of the Florida Legislature for working tirelessly on behalf of Floridians and joining our office to pass bills that will help us better protect the citizens of this great state. It has been a productive 60 days full of spirited debate and intense discussion, and thanks to this process, our office will have the tools necessary to better serve and protect Floridians.

“I especially want to thank House Speaker Jose Oliva, Senate President Bill Galvano, and all of the senators and representatives that partnered with our office to sponsor legislation that will help the Florida Attorney General’s Office further its mission of protecting Floridians and upholding the rule of law.”

Attorney General Moody’s office worked with lawmakers in the House and Senate on multiple issues throughout the session. Below are several of the priority bills passed by the legislature:

HB 1253 sponsored by Representative Amber Mariano will allow the Attorney General’s Office to access limited information from Florida’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Database to be used under protective order in the state’s ongoing opioid litigation. The Senate companion bill was SB 1700 sponsored by Senator Tom Lee.

SB 1656 sponsored by Senator Lee will provide consistency and uniformity in state criminal cases to attorneys, defendants and judges in Florida’s 20 judicial circuits. The House companion bill was HB 7069 sponsored by Representative Juan Fernandez-Barquin.

HB 7107 by the House Judiciary Committee will codify the Attorney General’s emergency rule to allow children and adults suffering from rare forms of epilepsy to access life-changing, FDA-approved medication. The Senate companion bill was SB 7082.

Attorney General Moody also championed legislation to create a Statewide Task Force on Opioid Drug Abuse. The legislation passed several legislative committees before Governor Ron DeSantis issued an Executive Order creating the statewide task force and appointing Attorney General Moody chair. Creating the task force through executive order will allow the task force to begin working sooner.

Additional legislative victories championed by the Florida Attorney General’s Office include, securing additional prosecutors to help fight fraud in the wake of Hurricane Michael, creating new victim services positions to speed up claims processing and more.