PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Today, Senator Rick Scott hosted a roundtable at the Bay County Sheriff’s Office with sheriffs and law enforcement leaders representing 18 counties in the Panhandle and Big Bend Region and Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. The discussion focused on issues impacting law enforcement officers and problems facing North Florida’s rural communities including school safety, the fentanyl crisis and social media’s impact on Florida’s kids.

Senator Rick Scott said, “Today, I heard from law enforcement officers representing 18 counties throughout Florida’s Panhandle and Big Bend Region and thanked them for keeping our communities safe. Although far from the border, our state is feeling the impacts of President Biden’s immigration crisis which has led to a rise of fentanyl in our communities. Our law enforcement is battling this every day, while also dealing with the growing threat of social media and artificial intelligence in our kids’ lives. Almost every issue in our lives is a law enforcement issue and they aren’t only dealing with it at work. These are moms, dads, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles who often see the problems they face in the field make it to their own front door. We can’t thank them enough for their sacrifice and hard work to keep us safe. I will not stop fighting to get the resources our law enforcement officers need and keep working to pass critical legislation like my School Guardian Act, Upholding The Law at Our Border Act, END FENTANYL Act and ASK Act to keep our schools safe, secure the border, combat the fentanyl crisis and keep our kids safe online.”

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