A Call to Override DeSantis Veto of HB 6017 - Urge the House and Senate to Stand by their vote
- melodypage72
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Governor DeSantis has vowed to veto HB 6017 — a bipartisan bill that simply restores the right to seek justice when a loved one is killed by medical negligence. His “jackpot justice” comment insulted thousands of grieving families and misrepresented what this bill truly stands for: accountability, and due process, not money.
The legislature overwhelmingly supported this bill. Now, we’re asking them to stand by their vote and override the veto. Add your name to the letter today and make your voice heard. The ability of the Florida Senate and House to override a governor’s veto is a vital part of our system of checks and balances. It ensures that no single branch of government holds absolute power—even the governor is accountable to the will of the people, as expressed through their elected legislators. When a bill passes with overwhelming bipartisan support, the legislature has both the authority and the responsibility to act if that will is ignored.
The form letter is here, click this link https://www.floridamedicalrights.org/
it only takes 30 seconds
SUPER EASY All you have to do is add your name, email address,
and phone number to the form.
You may make any additional of your own comments
before the signature in the same box.
A copy of the letter is below, but please sign using the link, it is front and center on our website: https://www.floridamedicalrights.org/
Dear Senate President Albritton, and House Speaker Daniel Perez,
We respectfully urge you to override Governor DeSantis’ veto of HB 6017, a bill that passed with 93% bipartisan support and serves as a long-overdue correction to one of Florida’s most unjust laws. You already spoke with your votes. Now, we ask you to stand by them.
If you allow the Governor to overrule a clean, evidence-based bill with a narrative built on misinformation, then you have a duty to hold him accountable - on the record. Demand that Governor DeSantis provide his claims under oath and back them with verifiable evidence. If he cannot, then your responsibility is clear: override him. You are accountable to the people - not to an unchecked executive or his donors. The system allowing you to override a veto is built to ensure checks and balances. We feel strongly that one is needed now.
Let’s be clear:
Due process is a constitutional right, guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
Under Florida’s "Free Kill" loophole, an unmarried adult child can die from medical negligence, and no one—not even their parents—has legal standing to seek justice.
This is not about “jackpot justice.” It’s about whether negligent death has consequences in a civilized society.
Governor DeSantis’s “jackpot justice” remark was not just insulting—it was deeply cruel. It suggests that grieving families want their loved ones to die for financial gain. That statement has outraged thousands of Floridians and trivialized the devastating pain of preventable loss.
We’ve asked for meetings with the Governor. We’ve waited in his office. We’ve written. We’ve called. He ignored us. Meanwhile, insurance lobbyists walk freely in and out of his office with access that ordinary citizens are denied.
We are demanding:
A public accounting of Governor DeSantis’ campaign donations, including all contributions from insurance and healthcare-related entities.
A written record of the “evidence” the Governor cited when claiming insurers and hospitals support maintaining the Free Kill law for the greater good of our state. Who said it, when, and what data was provided?
Let’s also correct another falsehood:Economic damages alone do not give access to Florida’s courts. In reality, the cost of litigation outweighs the potential recovery unless noneconomic damages are allowed. That’s not an oversight. It’s by design. Families like Cindy’s, whose daughter Taylor died preventably, are left without justice—while companies like Cigna are billed over $1 million and can’t even recover their losses unless negligence is legally confirmed.
And while Florida insurers are under investigation for fraud, they’ve never been required to testify under oath or submit verified data. Legislators and advocates have asked for two years. All we’ve received are recycled lobbyist talking points and inflated lawsuit predictions—none sworn under penalty of perjury.
We are not going away.
We’ve grown—into coordinated grassroots networks, fueled by heartbreak, data, and social media. Every preventable death strengthens our resolve. This movement will not die with this veto. It will multiply.
HB 6017 is not retroactive. It does not flood the courts. It simply affirms what Americans believe: If someone is killed by medical negligence, there should be accountability.
In this country, we trust courts to make fair decisions. HB 6017 upheld that trust. Governor DeSantis’s veto undermines it.
The legislature now has a choice:
Will you stand with Florida’s families—or with the special interests who’ve dominated this conversation for 35 years?
Override the veto. Restore due process. End Free Kill.
📎 Supporting Links from grassroots groups, non profits and Public Statements (there are so many more than what we are sharing here):