The state’s top elected officials and lawmakers trekked to Tallahassee’s Turnbull Conference Center Wednesday to update Florida Chamber of Commerce members on Florida’s business climate and outlook for 2020 and beyond. The event showcased big names in Florida politics, including State Senate President Bill Galvano, Attorney General Ashley Moody, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, among a handful of others.

During today’s event, Senate President Bill Galvano spoke frankly on subjects including Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing arm, and his interest in Florida’s advancing transportation research. He expressed that Florida’s transportation infrastructure is going to be a priority for this session. 

Attorney General Ashley Moody addressed the crowd after lunch and provided her insight into Florida’s legal climate during her first year as Attorney General.

“We’re doing great in Florida. But that doesn’t mean we can take our eye off the ball, and pretend that risks and vulnerabilities to our state are not going to exist,” said Moody. “We need to look at what we’ve done right. I reorganized a Medicaid fraud unit, making sure we are responsible for taxpayer money with $40 million in recovery this year,” said Moody.

Moody also discussed her concerns for future cybersecurity issues, noting her office is working on solutions to what she called the “cyber fraud problem.”

“We always want to make sure we are seeing what’s most effective. Statewide prosecutors need to be trained, we are number one in the nation for fraud,” said Moody. “We currently don’t have a state-wide cyber fraud unit to help our Floridians, our seniors, and our businesses. So I have asked the legislature to let me create a cyber fraud unit, to protect us and to go after those who are taking advantage of our citizens.”