After about seven hours of angry, sometimes deeply painful debate about race and gun violence that spanned two days, the Florida House passed a bill Wednesday that would allow classroom teachers to be armed an expansion of the program it created last year after the Parkland shooting. The debate at times reached emotional heights that had Democrats shouting or tearing up as black members delved into details about their personal experiences with racism and their deep-seated fears about minority children being targeted by teachers who have guns. The bill is now on its way to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk. For teachers and other staff to be armed, school districts must opt-in to the so-called “Guardian program,” which allows teachers and other staff to volunteer to carry a gun on campus after undergoing screening and training by a local sheriff’s office.

May 24^th

Our Back the Blue Campaign continues to highlight individuals that take extraordinary steps to further build positive relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

This week, I traveled to Fort Myers to present a Back the Blue Award to School Resource Officer Donna Aiossa-McNally who serves at Buckingham Exceptional Student Center. Deputy Aiossa-McNally gave up her office and turned it into a food pantry so that special needs students could learn the shopping experience. By creating the food pantry, students are able to develop important vocational skills, build confidence when making decisions, and bring food home so they do not go hungry at night. This is especially significant at Buckingham because 78 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunches.

Deputy Aiossa-McNally is also working towards making the school’s home economics kitchen ADA and wheelchair accessible. This would give students the opportunity to learn how to cook and make meals themselves from the items they picked at the food pantry. Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody today announced the first arrest in connection with the newly-formed Senior Protection Team. Acting on a complaint sent to the Team, investigators began looking into allegations that a Florida senior fell victim to contractor fraud following Hurricane Michael. The victim’s home suffered damage during the storm. The victim paid a contractor $5,000 for repairs that the contractor never completed.

Working with the Gulf County Sheriff’s Office, the Team helped build a case that led to the arrest of contractor Mark Kelsoe. The investigation revealed Kelsoe as an unlicensed contractor. Kelsoe is charged with one count of working as an unlicensed contractor during a state of emergency, a third-degree felony.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Anyone trying to take advantage of Florida seniors should think twice before committing fraud. Our Senior Protection Team is working diligently to investigate complaints of senior fraud and abuse. The Team has only been active for a matter of weeks and already their hard work is producing results. Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody today visited the Orlando Police Department and presented a Back the Blue Award to the department for providing relief to Puerto Rico law enforcement agencies post Hurricane Maria. Over the past two years, the department gathered gear to help law enforcement maintain order on the storm-ravaged island. The materials consist of radio equipment, ballistic shields, tactical vests, tasers, flashlights, helmets and more. The department delivered the materials, valued at more than $500,000, to Puerto Rico last week.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “The Orlando Police Department and Chief Orlando Rolón went above and beyond to support law enforcement in Puerto Rico. Not only do they dedicate their lives to serving Floridians, they are committed to helping those in need outside of Florida as well. The brotherhood within law enforcement is strong, no matter where you are located, and the care and consideration of this mission is outstanding. Thank you, Orlando Police Department for your tenacity, for representing our State so well and helping our fellow Americans.” Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is urging the Federal Communications Commission to take further action to stop the growing spread of illegal robocalls and spoofing. Spoofing is the practice of using technology to disguise a caller’s phone number. The number of spoofed calls and the consumer financial losses tied to these scams have increased by nearly 50 percent in recent years. Attorney General Moody is one of 42 attorneys general asking the FCC to enforce rules against caller ID spoofing on calls to the United States originating from overseas, while also addressing spoofing in text messages and alternative voice services.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Earlier this year I urged Congress to take action against illegal robocalls, and now I am advocating for the Federal Communications Commission to further enforce rules against the rapid proliferation of these calls. We must continue to work together to protect consumers from being harassed and scammed by robocalls.”

The coalition of Attorneys General delivered formal legal comments to the FCC. The comments urged the FCC to adopt provisions that are included in the FCC appropriations authorization bill also known as the Ray Baum’s Act of 2018.

Americans received almost 18 billion scam robocalls in 2018, and robocalls have increased in the U.S. by 57 percent from 2017 to 2018. The FTC reports that these imposter scams cost consumers $488 million just in 2018.

Attorney General Moody is joined in sending the formal comments to the FCC by the attorneys general of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

To view the formal comments, click here. 

Florida continues to rank third in the nation in the number of calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. This horrific crime is plaguing our state and we must remain vigilant on combatting this modern-day slavery. Taking an active role in this fight is especially crucial with the Super Bowl coming to Miami next February. Major sporting events attract thousands of visitors from around the world and can also create a temporary and illegal market for human traffickers.

Today, our Statewide Council on Human Trafficking met in Jacksonville, and we discussed our partnership with Uber to help prevent human trafficking during the Super Bowl. Ahead of the last Super Bowl in Atlanta, Uber launched anti-sex trafficking training in an effort to protect visitors and stop trafficking. We need to do the same for next year’s Super Bowl in Florida and Uber will soon begin providing additional anti-human trafficking training sessions for its Florida drivers. I will also serve on the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee’s Executive Leadership Team in charge of anti-sex trafficking efforts and additional human trafficking interdiction efforts. Continue reading →

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. Continue reading →

Photo Credit: Governor’s Press Office

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis signed CS/CS/SB 96: Police, Fire, and Search and Rescue Dogs and Police Horses. The bill increases the penalty from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony for intentionally and knowingly causing great bodily harm, permanent disability, or death to police canines or horses, fire canines, or search and rescue canines.

“Like the officers they serve with, these animals are frequently placed in harm’s way for the safety of our communities and I was proud to sign this bill today that increases the penalty for harming them,” said Governor DeSantis. “These canines and horses play critical roles in law enforcement activities, and for their service, they deserve greater protection under our laws. I thank Senator Bean and Representatives Tomkow and Byrd for their work on this good legislation.”

The Governor was joined at the bill signing ceremony by Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez, Senator Wilton Simpson, bill sponsors Senator Aaron Bean, Representative Josie Tomkow, Representative Cord Byrd and other members of the Florida Legislature. Also in attendance were law enforcement personnel, including Officer Matt Herrera, whose canine partner Fang was murdered in the line of duty, as well as Debbie Johnson, the founder of K9s United.  Continue reading →