House of Representatives Speaker Johnnie Byrd (R-Plant City) pledged to support the measure. During the past two regular sessions, lawmakers failed to pass a prescription-monitoring system.

Purdue Pharma, the Connecticut manufacturer of OxyContin, would provide $2 million in software for the program. The contribution was part of a deal Purdue Pharma made when the state agreed to drop its investigation into the company's marketing of OxyContin. However, the offer is only good until next July.

According to a nine-month investigation by the Orlando Sentinel, OxyContin was linked to 83 percent of the 247 overdose deaths in the state in 2001 and 2002. Most of the overdose victims had a history of medical problems such as back pain; only a fraction were considered strictly recreational users.

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