MOORE HAVEN, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis awarded more than $1 million in funding to the City of Moore Haven through two Rural Infrastructure Fund grants to improve and enhance the downtown area and attract new development, creating new jobs and improving the local economy. The City of Moore Haven will use the funds to complete roadway and stormwater improvements that will mitigate recurrent flooding and prevent pollutants from entering the Caloosahatchee River Basin Estuary.

“Our rural communities are the backbone of our state, and I will continue fighting for these communities,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “This infrastructure funding will help the Moore Haven area support current residents, protect the environment and better prepare for future growth.”  Continue reading →

MARIANNA, Fla.,— Governor Ron DeSantis announced over $91 million in funding to communities across the Panhandle region through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s (DEO) Rebuild Florida Mitigation General Infrastructure Program. Projects include improvements to wastewater and sanitary sewer, potable water, and stormwater systems.

“I’ve said from the beginning that recovery from Hurricane Michael would be a long-term process,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Michael has forever left a mark on Panhandle communities, but through the funding provided today, we can ensure these communities are stronger and better equipped for the future.” Continue reading →

Reports of jury duty scams have surfaced in at least five Florida counties in the past year—two of those warnings coming in this month alone.

Scammers are calling targets claiming they missed a jury duty report date and must make immediate payment to avoid going to jail, even though failure to appear for jury duty is not grounds for immediate arrest.

Court officials will also never demand payment over the phone or ask that payment be wired or made through a gift card.

There are few civic duties as important to our judicial system as serving on a jury. As a former judge, I’m livid that anyone would exploit this honorable process to scare citizens into paying a ransom. Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, with the assistance of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, today arrested a business owner for stealing thousands of dollars from the Florida Medicaid program. Rasheia James owned a home health care service company that provided services for Medicaid recipients. According to the investigation, James knowingly created and submitted falsified documents to Medicaid for services not rendered. James allegedly billed Medicaid more than $9,600 for services never provided to customers that needed health and personal support care. Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody today released online safety tips for Floridians in recognition of Safer Internet Day. In 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that internet scammers victimized more than 50,000 Floridians, with nearly $300 million lost to online scams. Anyone can fall prey to these schemes—so, Attorney General Moody is issuing a warning to children, seniors and adults on Safer Internet Day to help Floridians guard against fraud.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “No one is completely safe online, and that is why we have developed resources to help protect Floridians on the internet. As we recognize Safer Internet Day, please take a moment to review your online security plan to ensure you are doing all you can to protect your identity, personal information and children from cybercriminals and predators.”

In the past year, Attorney General Moody has released online safety content for Floridians of all ages:

Online Safety for Children

Last month, Attorney General Moody released the 2022 Online Safety Toolkit, designed to help empower parents to teach their children about the dangers of human trafficking online and to create effective online safety plans for safe internet use. The toolkit contains pages of educational material aggregated from federal, state and local public agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Florida law enforcement and technology companies.

Online Safety for Seniors

In an effort to help seniors avoid scams, Attorney General Moody launched the Scams at a Glance program. The online resource provides tips and information through downloadable brochures designed to assist consumers with information and best practices to guard against fraud.

Online Safety for Adults

Attorney General Moody releases Consumer Alerts covering a wide range of topics, with many focusing on various tech-related scams that are reported to the Florida Attorney General’s Office.

Some of the latest, top technology-related Consumer Alerts include:

Malware that Drains Cellphone Batteries and Bank Accounts

Payment App Hack Attacks

QR Code Scams

Tips to Protect Passwords

To view other recent Consumer Alerts, visit Attorney General Moody’s Consumer Alert webpage at MyFloridaLegal.com/ConsumerAlert.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is declaring victory following a long legal battle with President Joe Biden, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the federal lockdown of Florida’s cruise industry. Florida is the top state in the nation for cruises with approximately 159,000 hard-working Floridians who depend on the industry for their livelihoods. Good news for those families—following Attorney General Moody’s relentless legal efforts, Biden’s CDC has allowed the Conditional Sailing Order that shuttered the industry to expire, and now the state is moving to end the litigation.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “As the court said, Biden’s industry-wide shutdown was, ‘breathtaking, unprecedented and acutely and singularly authoritarian.’ Furthermore, his draconian order had a very real impact on thousands of Floridians who were just trying to feed their families. I am proud to stand with Governor DeSantis against the shuttering of our cruise industry, and declare victory over a federal government that has proven time and time again that it has no qualms about exceeding its authority—even when it prevents hundreds of thousands of Americans from working.”

In April 2021, Attorney General Moody filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Preliminary and Permanent Injunctive Relief in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The complaint argued that the CDC does not possess the authority to issue yearlong nationwide lockdowns of entire industries. The complaint also contended that the CDC’s actions were arbitrary and capricious, and otherwise violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

Last June, the court granted Attorney General Moody a Preliminary Injunction, essentially shutting down the federal government’s unlawful Conditional Sailing Order in the state of Florida.

Florida fought the CDC all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. Then, last month, the CDC let the order expire and announced that the order would not be renewed. Additionally, the CDC dismissed its appeal of Florida’s preliminary-injunction motion. Given the federal government’s abandonment of its order, Attorney General Moody today dismissed the matter and issued a statement outlining the legal and practical win for Floridians. Continue reading →

Dear Neighbor,

As we enter the new year, we are faced by mounting challenges posed by the COVID pandemic, economic stagnation, rising inflation, and supply chain disruptions. Even with all of these problems that we face, the new year offers an opportunity to start anew and bring solutions to the table to help all Americans. 

I’m thankful to be spending the first days of this new year at home in North Central Florida visiting with my constituents. It is important for me to be on the ground hearing from folks about the challenges that they are facing in this new year. It continues to be an incredible honor to represent the great people of Florida’s Third Congressional District in Congress.

With all that’s happening this Congress, it is my greatest honor to represent you and hear from you about the issues that matter most. You can read below about what we’ve been up to this week, and as always, you can stay up to date with us here, on our  website, and on  Twitter ,  Facebook ,  Instagram , and  YouTube .

In Liberty,

Dear Friends,

What a great country we live in! Only in America, could a hard-working young man who started out mowing the lawn and washing cars at a funeral home, eventually become the principle and grow that business in to a thriving company with over 100 employees. That young man is now your State Senator and what a blessing and privilege it is to be able to serve you in Tallahassee.

First, a quick update on the redistricting process. As of this writing, the Senate and Congressional maps are just about complete and we expect to hold a vote on the final maps very soon. It was the priority of the Senate to get these done early so that we can focus on other needs of the state. Florida’s citizens should be pleased with the final product as this open process followed a strict procedure and was done fairly and constitutionally.

Also, excited to inform you of some legislation that we have been working on for some time and has recently been filed for consideration. SB 1820, the “Health Care Ethics and Liberty Protection Act” is a bill that would protect doctors and health care providers from being forced to participate in or pay for any health care service that violates their conscience. There are those on the left that believe that health care providers should not be able to refuse to perform or pay for things like abortions and gender reassignment procedures, even if these things are inconsistent with sincerely held religious beliefs. Despite the fact that these procedures do more harm than good and can be very damaging to individuals, we should all at least be able to agree that no one should be forced to participate in something that violates their conscience. This bill would reinforce that right and make it very clear that this will not be tolerated in the State of Florida. Continue reading →

STATE OF FLORIDA

(Executive Order of Suspension)

WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 7(a) of the Florida Constitution provides that the Governor may suspend from office any county officer for commission of a felony; and

WHEREAS, Gary Robert Search is presently serving as a County Commissioner for Sumter County, Florida, District 1, having been elected in 2020 to serve a four-year term; and

WHEREAS, on December 14, 2021, Gary Robert Search was charged by Information with the felony charge of perjury in an official proceeding, in violation of section 837.02(1), Florida Statutes; and

WHEREAS, a violation of section 837.02(1), Florida Statutes, constitutes a felony in the third degree; and Continue reading →