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 →

By Steve Hayes, Chairman and President – Americans for Fair Taxation

THE OPPORTUNITY ZONE–HOW THE SWAMP BRIBES THE WEALTHY

The 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act created opportunity zone investments and tax benefits for those investing in them.  While this sounds good—use the income tax code to help bring investments to needy areas– it is really designed to bribe higher income people.

This information is provided by the IRS:

An Opportunity Zone is an economically-distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. Localities qualify as Opportunity Zones if they have been nominated for that designation by the state and that nomination has been certified by the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury via his delegation of authority to the Internal Revenue Service.  Continue reading →

Florida Becomes the Fourth State in the Nation to Join the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities     

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis joined American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) CEO Jo Ann Jenkins to announce that Florida has been designated an Age-Friendly State, making Florida the fourth state in the nation to join the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. They were joined by Secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs Richard Prudom and AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson.

“In Florida, we are taking tangible steps to make our state more livable for residents of all ages – especially our senior population,” said Governor DeSantis. “As our state continues to grow, we must ensure that we do all that we can to meet the needs of our residents. I am proud that Florida is leading by becoming the largest state to commit to this important effort.

“Florida joining the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities is a very significant step in the growing movement to make communities more livable, for people of all ages,” said AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins. “We want to thank Gov. DeSantis, Lt. Gov. Nunez and Elder Affairs Secretary Prudom for their leadership on this important issue.” Continue reading →

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the following bills:

• CS/CS/SB 96 – Police, Fire, and Search and Rescue Dogs and Police Horses
• CS/SB 124 – Dependent Children
• CS/SB 184 – Aging Programs
• CS/CS/CS/SB 248 – Public Records/Civilian Personnel Employed by a Law Enforcement Agency
• CS/SB 7006 – Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act
• CS/SB 7012 – Vaping
• CS/SB 7014 – Government Accountability
• SB 7034 – OGSR/Automated License Plate Recognition System
• SB 7036 – OGSR/Payment of Toll on Toll Facilities/Identifying Information
• SB 7060 – Termination of the Working Capital Trust Fund within the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

Military Veterans, Service Men, and Service Women are heroes in this country and deserve more than a salute for their bravery — wouldn’t you agree? Several companies in the United States show how thankful they are for Veterans and Active Duty service members in the form of discounts and rebates. There are even federal programs available just for you that many Veterans don’t know about.

There are a wide variety of companies, such as restaurants, retail stores, etc., who offer special discounts to Veterans and Active Duty Military Members year round. We’ve compiled a list of 16 discounts you should be taking advantage of if you’re not already.

More than 21 million Veterans and Service Members live in the United States today. Sadly, only about 6% of them have purchased a home using a VA loan in the past five years, and even fewer have refinanced. Those percentages should be WAY higher. A lot of Veterans don’t use the VA home loan and instead get more expensive traditional loans. For most, that’s a very costly mistake. Still unknown to many, this brilliant government program could save millions of Veterans like you and help you save $42,000. Continue reading →

This week, we reached the 100-day mark of our new administration. It has been an exciting, challenging first 100 days, but in this short period of time, our office achieved several major victories and implemented important changes to better protect Floridians.

While campaigning to serve as Florida’s Attorney General, I made fighting the opioid crisis a top priority. From my first day in office, I fought for a Statewide Opioid Task Force to establish a formalized structure to meet this crisis head-on. I am proud to now chair the new Statewide Task Force on Opioid Drug Abuse and look forward to working through this task force to end this crisis.

Fighting fraud and protecting seniors is another major focus of our new administration. To accomplish this mission, we formed Florida’s new Senior Protection Team. Our team is comprised of leading experts from the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, Consumer Protection Division, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Criminal Justice Programs Unit, as well as specifically designated FDLE agents from around the state. This team is working together to fight senior fraud and abuse statewide. Expect to hear more from them soon. Continue reading →

We are fighting the opioid crisis on many fronts. Soon, our Statewide Task Force on Opioid Drug Abuse will begin meeting to identify innovative strategies for prevention, treatment and interdiction. State litigation to hold the nation’s largest opioid distributors, manufacturers and pharmacies responsible for their roles in this crisis is in full swing. And our Office of Statewide Prosecution continues drug interdiction efforts with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to lock up heroin and fentanyl traffickers.

Now we need your help. This Saturday, the Drug Enforcement Administration is hosting the 17th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. The biannual event is a safe and responsible way to properly dispose of unused or expired prescription drugs or controlled substances. Disposing of unwanted or expired pharmaceuticals can help prevent drug abuse, addiction and overdose deaths. Continue reading →

Eglin AFB, Fla. – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the Governor’s Initiative on Lawyers Assisting Warriors (GI LAW), an initiative to leverage the talent of Florida’s leading law firms to provide pro bono services to military members.

Joined by Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs Executive Director Danny Burgess, Enterprise Florida President and CEO Jamal Sowell, U.S Coast Guard Chief of Legal Assistance Chris Dunne and several of the state’s most prominent legal professionals, Governor DeSantis unveiled the new program as well as its leadership.

To spearhead the initiative, the Governor announced Chuck Faircloth, General Counsel of the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs, will serve as Executive Director. Steering Committee members include: Major General James O. Eifert, Adjutant General of the Florida National Guard, Danny Burgess, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs’, Bruce Grant, Vice President of Military and Defense Programs at Enterprise Florida, partners from Greenberg Traurig, partners from Holland & Knight, partners from Shutts & Bowen and partners from the Gunster law firm.  Continue reading →