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Former S. Florida State Senator To Lead Pill-Mill Fight

TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) - Attorney General-elect Pam Bondi has reached across party lines to name a Democrat who wanted her job to lead an anti-pill mill initiative.

Bondi said Friday that she and former state Sen. Dave Aronberg  share "a strong commitment" to shutting down pill mills, which have been a significant problem in both Broward County and the Tampa area. Both parts of the state have become havens for people who travel from out-of-state to take advantage of loose local and state laws that make it easy to get narcotic pain pills. She said her office will work with federal, state and local law enforcement to close pain clinics that feed a black market in prescription painkillers.

Legislation that would have strengthened laws against pill mills was killed in a special legislative session following the November election.

Aronberg, who represented Palm Beach county, ran for attorney general last year but lost the Democratic primary to state Sen. Dan Gelber. Bondi is a Republican.

Aronberg served in the Florida Senate from 2002 to 2010. He advocated for a prescription drug database to regulate the ownership and operation of pain clinics.

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