Working with state lawmakers this week, we passed important legislation that will help our office better protect Floridians. Lawmakers passed bills to bolster our 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.
Representative Amber Mariano and Senator Tom Lee sponsored legislation allowing our 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.
Senator Lee also sponsored our bill providing consistency and uniformity in state criminal cases to attorneys, defendants and judges in Florida’s 20 judicial circuits. Representative Juan Fernandez-Barquin sponsored the House companion.
The House Judiciary Committee brought a committee bill codifying our emergency rule to allow children and adults suffering from rare forms of epilepsy to access life-changing, FDA-approved medication.
In the opening weeks of session, Senator Wilton Simpson and Representative Tyler Sirois sponsored legislation to create a statewide opioid task force. The legislation passed several legislative committees before Governor Ron DeSantis issued an Executive Order creating the Statewide Task Force on Opioid Abuse and granting me the honor of serving as Chair.
I want to thank the Governor, House Speaker Jose Oliva, Senate President Bill Galvano and each member of the Florida Legislature for working tirelessly on behalf of Floridians. It‘s 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.
