TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A bill that cracks down on the false marketing practices of some "sober homes" has made it past the Florida Legislature.
The bipartisan effort by lawmakers to strengthen the state's role in prosecuting criminal and regulatory violations in the sober-home industry was sent late Thursday to Gov. Rick Scott.
The final version of the bill includes patient brokering in the list of crimes the state can prosecute. If signed into law, sober homes — mostly unregulated buildings rented to people recently out of rehab — would be banned from spreading false advertisement and there would be tougher background checks for workers at licensed rehab centers that refer patients to sober homes.
Scott has indicated his support for clamping down on the opioid-addiction problem plaguing the state, including tighter regulations on sober homes.
