Dueling amendments on the Office of Drug Control

Moves to thwart Florida’s notorious prescription drug problem are growing increasingly heated in the House and Senate.

This morning, state Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, filed a bill that would repeal the statute that created and controlled the Office of Drug Control — an office that Gov. Rick Scott recently made drastic moves to eliminate. The bill also aims to move the jurisdiction over a state drug monitoring database from the Office of Drug Control to the surgeon general.

Shortly after, Sen. Mike Fasano filed an amendment to the bill, which struck out the repeal of the Office of Drug Control. Fasano’s move was effective, and passed on a unanimous voice vote.