Gov. Rick Scott Signs Pill Mill Bill Into Law

TALLAHASSEE -- After initially fighting one of its key provisions, Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Friday aimed at cracking down on clinics that frivolously dispense pain pills, feeding a nationwide prescription drug abuse epidemic.

"Florida will shed its title as the Oxy Express," Scott said at a bill signing ceremony in Tampa.

The signing ended what had been a hard-fought political battle over how to stop an epidemic that kills an estimated seven Floridians daily.

Attorney General Pam Bondi made tackling prescription drug abuse her top priority, lobbying legislators for more tools to pursue pill mill operators.

But senators and representatives began the legislative session this with vastly different ideas on how to corral the problem.

Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, and Senate President Mike Haridopolos were staunch advocates of a prescription drug monitoring database.

Scott and House leaders wanted to eliminate it, raising questions about its effectiveness and privacy.

Scott launched his own law enforcement "strike force" to tackle the problem, and Rep. Robert Schecnk, R-Spring Hill, pushed a bill targeting doctors and drug distributors.

The final product includes Bondi's priorities, as well as elements of the House bill and Fasano's database.

"The governor has made a huge turnaround," Fasano said. "The governor today signed a bill today that not only preserves the prescription drug monitoring database. It makes it better."

The bill tightens reporting requirements to the database from 15 days to seven days, a change critics said the program needed to make it more effective.

The measure also increases penalties for overprescribing Oxycodone and other narcotics, tracks wholesale distribution of some controlled substances, and provides $3 million to support law enforcement efforts and state prosecutors.

It also bans most doctors who prescribe narcotics from dispensing them, requiring prescriptions to be filled at certain types of pharmacies.

Scott has been under pressure from elected officials throughout the country to do something about the proliferation of so-called "pill mills" in Florida that attract people from other states seeking easy access to highly addictive, powerful painkillers.

"The toll our nation's prescription drug abuse epidemic has taken in communities nationwide is devastating and Florida is ground zero," said Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy after Scott signed the bill.

While testifying before a congressional committee with Kentucky Gov. Steve Bershear in April, Scott pledged to address the problem and give up his push to kill Florida's prescription drug monitoring database, a top priority for Kerlikowske's nationwide prescription drug battle.

Bershear applauded Scott and the Florida legislature on Friday.

"The signing of this bill will undoubtedly save lives – not just in Florida, but in points north, including my home state of Kentucky," he said. "This comprehensive bill is another good step in our cooperative efforts to protect our families from the scourge of prescription drug abuse. I thank Gov. Scott for signing this important bill."

On Friday, Scott drew maximum attention to his signing of a popular law that won unanimous support in both the House and Senate with ceremonies in Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando.

Broward County has become the nation’s pill-mill capital, with 130 pain clinics in operation. In Broward alone, more than one million oxycodone tablets are prescribed every month, according to local law enforcement authorities.

Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca, who attended the bill signing in Fort Lauderdale, praised the governor for supporting the new law.

“I applaud Governor Scott in realizing the severity of this epidemic, and using the full force of his office to aid in the fight to stop these senseless deaths. I think it shows his awareness of the issue that the first bill signing took place here in Broward County —Ground Zero in the fight against this epidemic," LaMarca said in a statement.

Broward commissioners recently approved an ordinance with strict rules on zoning, hours of operation and business practices of pain management clinics. They also prohibits the clinics from operating within 1,200 feet of another pain management clinic, place of worship, child care center or educational center.

In Tampa, Scott said highlighted the statewide strike force he assembled with Bondi. The task force has made 350 arrests since March.

When asked if the bill was strong enough, Scott said it was and left the door open for more legislation if needed.

"If there's something we need to do," he said, "we'll do more."

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/03/2249936/scott-signs-pill-mill-bill-into.html