The governor also signed a bill designed to make it easier for people to get access to the painkiller hydrocodone. And he said he would sign a bill giving him more control over judicial appointments. A 1986 law has banned possession of child pornography in Florida. The crime would be a third-degree felony, which is punishable by up to five years in prison. State lawmakers last year reclassified certain mixtures of the pain killer hydrocodone to give prosecutors more leeway to go after traffickers.
Police say hydrocodone has become one of their biggest problems in the fight against drug abuse.
It's the key ingredient in the common pain killer Vicodin. But the medical community warned that last year's law would burden legitimate pain killer users. They said some patients would have to make extra doctor visits to get written prescription for refills instead of getting them over the phone, even though many were homebound by their illnesses or age. Attorney General Bob Butterworth adopted an emergency rule keeping the change from ever taking effect. This year's bill undoes the change made last year.