Representative Tommy Gregory Named Florida Chamber of Commerce’s 2023 Most Valuable Legislator

The Florida Chamber of Commerce has named Representative Tommy Gregory as its 2023 Most Valuable Legislator for his leadership in rebalancing Florida’s civil justice system and strengthening Florida’s competitiveness through historic lawsuit abuse reform.

“The Florida Chamber could not have asked for a better partner or more tenacious champion for Floridians to work shoulder-to-shoulder with Florida’s united business community to accomplish the strongest lawsuit abuse reform package in Florida’s history,” said Florida Chamber President & CEO Mark Wilson. “Thanks, in large part, to Representative Gregory’s leadership, Florida will begin to reverse the damage done by personal injury billboard trial lawyers, redirecting the billions of dollars spent annually on frivolous litigation and will pull Florida up from its bottom-five legal climate to one of the top 12 legal climates in the nation.”

As Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Gregory worked tirelessly to ensure the passage of HB 837, a generational lawsuit abuse reform package that will improve Florida’s bottom-five legal climate and reduce the more than $5,000 in lawsuit abuse taxes that each family pays in the form of higher-priced goods and services.

If the original bill’s five, significant reforms were not enough of a load to shoulder and defend against well-funded opponents in the trial bar, Representative Gregory fought to make the package even stronger by adding additional Florida Chamber-backed provisions as he shepherded the bill through committees to the floor. Together, these reforms will transform Florida’s legal climate as an outlier to following best practices found in other states, unleashing Florida’s competitive potential.

Soon after Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 837 into law, Representative Gregory continued to put local businesses and Florida consumers above billboard lawyers by overseeing the passage of other lawsuit abuse reform efforts through his committee’s jurisdiction. While the fight is far from over, Representative Gregory’s exemplary leadership has made Florida the envy of the nation in 2023 as other state’s grapple with lawsuit abuse. With more to do, we know he will “keep attacking.”

“Thank you, Florida Chamber of Commerce! It was an honor to work with you to improve Florida’s legal climate and strengthen our economy,” said Representative Tommy Gregory. “I’m proud to receive an award from an organization that supports our job creators — the heart of Florida’s economy. Keep attacking!”

Representative Gregory joins a list of distinguished Most Valuable Legislators:

• Representative Alan Bense (2005)
• Representative Don Brown (2006)
• Representative Stan Mayfield (2007)
• Representative Dennis Ross (2008)
• Senator Garrett Richter (2009)
• Senator John Thrasher (2010)
• Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff (2011)
• Representative Dean Cannon (2012)
• Representative Larry Metz (2013)
• Representative Will Weatherford (2014)
• Representative Steve Crisafulli (2016)
• Senator Kathleen Passidomo (2018)
• Representative Bob Rommel (2019)
• Senator Wilton Simpson (2021)

For a comprehensive review of what passed, what didn’t and what remains unfinished business following the 2023 Legislative Session, click HERE. To see how each of Florida’s 159 Legislators scored based on their votes during the 2023 Legislative Session, view the Florida Chamber’s Legislative Report Card, HERE.

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