After four years of delays and infighting, the Legislature has finally given Florida a chance to atone for letting elderly and mentally disabled citizens suffer in abusive assisted living homes. Lawmakers passed legislation that would give regulators new tools for monitoring and disciplining homes that do not measure up. The bill is far from perfect and needs diligent implementation by the very state agencies whose failures enabled horrific conditions to fester in the first place. But the changes should help protect the lives of more than 85,000 vulnerable citizens, and Gov. Rick Scott should honor them and sign the bill into law.
– Tampa Bay Times